THE BIRTH 
HUMANITY^ 

by 

M. RBBPMAKBR 




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THE BIRTH 
OF HUMANITY 






The Dawn of Better Times 


The Birth of Humanity 

a NOVEL 

(Sequel to "Tuned Higher Than the Race”) 


BY 


MICHAEL REEPMAKER 

n 


AUTHOR OF 

" Vengeance,” "The School of the Kings,” 
"The Abyss of Liberty,” "A Woman’s Soul,” 
"Tuned Higher Than the Race,” Etc. 


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> 


3 


TIMES-MIRROR PRESS 
LOS ANGELES 
1923 





Copyright by 
Times-Mirror Pres* 
Los Angeles 
1923 


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AUG -b IU23 


©C1A752395 


INTRODUCTION 


The subject of this volume is the coming 
of the World-Teacher, as expected by all peoples 
of the world. 

It is designed to help prepare the way for 
the Master and make His path straight. 

Only a few people know that the World- 
Teacher can be invited to come. 

It depends on us mortals, only. 

If we evolve the necessary conditions in 
ourselves and in the world, then we will not be 
kept waiting. 

The Master is always ready. 



CONTENTS 


Chapter Page 

I. Sura and Asura Arrive.11 

II. The World Teacher and His Opposer . . 33 

III. Edward Bicker is Declared not to be Edward 

Bicker.52 

IV. The Performance.71 

V. The Sermon in the Boat.92 

VI. Sura’s Glorification.113 

VII. Asura’s Defeat.135 

VIII. The Birth of Humanity.157 

IX. Asura’s Departure.177 

X. The Oath.197 


















PROLOGUE 

Personages: 

SURA 

ASURA 

The scene is the Universe. 

Sura: I am sent to the world with my host of followers 
to give birth to humanity. They call me the Light- 
B ringer. 

A sura: I am sent to the world with my host of fol¬ 
lowers to resist thy work. They call me the Great Opposer. 

Sura: Thy work is dear to me. Without thee I could 
not accomplish my task. We will stand together, thou 
fighting me, and return victors. The Lord be with thee, 
my Brother. 

A sura: May my power soon be broken. The Lord be 
with thee, my Brother. 







THE BIRTH OF HUMANITY 


Chapter I 

SURA AND ASURA ARRIVE 

It was the longest day of the year. A man walked in 
his garden after sunset enjoying the coolness of the evening. 

A mysterious light illuminated the blessed land of Cali¬ 
fornia. The sun, though having disappeared in the ocean, 
seemed unable to leave the horizon. Seemingly one could 
follow its rays behind the curving line for the whole night, 
as if it were eager to be present at the great event that was 
to be of such mighty influence on the human race and the 
Universe. 

In front of the man was the Pacific Ocean, endless. 
The faint rippling of the waves sent their tiny voices up¬ 
ward to the thinker. 

He could not resign himself to rest, surrounded as he 
felt he was, by inexplicable influences. An atmosphere of 
holiness surrounded him; and when he closed his eyes a 
distant music seemed to fill the air, as if produced by a 
host of children singing with closed lips. 

His thoughts lingered with his family: his beloved wife 
and his six children in Europe, where, at this very moment, 
the sun was shining in all its glory. He saw them, the 
eldest son nearly twenty, the second nineteen, the girls still 
children, the younger boys going to school. 

But this vision dated from three years past, when he 
had left home. Now his eldest son was married and a 
father. He had not seen him since. 

He—this thinker—had been sent away from home to 



12 


The Birth of Humanity 


accomplish a sacred task, not even known to himself. A 
stately Hindu had visited him to draw him into this mysteri¬ 
ous work. 

“We need you, Mr. Bicker,” he had said, with a deep, 
melodious voice. “You will be the precursor of the Great 
One who is coming.” 

Who was the Great One? 

Even now, three years later, he did not know. The 
Hindu was directing his trip. Mr. Bicker had to speak in 
all countries of the world on religion and wisdom: glorious 
synonyms, destined to uplift the race. 

“What will be my task?” he had asked, in a trembling 
voice. 

“To do what you have been doing for so many years, 
Mr. Bicker: speak to the intelligence and to the hearts of 
men; speak of unity and charity; spread knowledge of the 
unknown; bring all human hearts together.” And Bicker 
had left his beloved ones with bleeding heart, but sup¬ 
ported by a glorious enthusiasm, indispensable to all spiritual 
endeavor. 

He had been separated from his work, forced to dis¬ 
entangle himself from his business, the Bicker-Van Nuyss 
Company, known throughout the world; from the manage¬ 
ment of his church so dear to him; and, above all, from his 
relatives who had clung to him with all their love. 

He now recalled his farewell to his wife—the saddest 
and, at the same time, the grandest moment of his life. It 
had proved to him how he was still loved, twenty years 
after his marriage. He remembered Ann’s sobs and her 
smiles through her tears, as she tried to encourage him and 
speak words of hope. 

“You will come back, my dear Edward, when your task 
is accomplished. Our children will have grown, and our 


Sura and Asura Arrive 


13 


love will be as strong and true as now and as it was the 
day of our marriage.” 

Three years of hard work had passed away; three 
years during which he had visited many countries, speaking 
in all languages of charity and unity; of the end of hate and 
envy; of metaphysical subjects; of the great event that was 
near, not fully knowing himself even what it might be. 
He said everywhere that a great blessing from above was 
to be imparted to the human race. A great step of progress 
was to be taken; an uplifting of the race to a higher stand¬ 
point was at hand; a long period of reconstruction was to 
take the place of the period of demolishing, which man 
had just witnessed—a terrible time of war and revolution, 
of murder and famine, of ruin and despair! 

His words had not been accepted by all. He had been 
derided by those whose hearts were too sadly shaken by 
despair; those upon whose contracted lips sorrow had too 
deeply engraved its hieroglyphics, and in whose eyes the 
sorrows of the recent past still lived like a black phantom; 
and those in whose ears each word of hope and light sounded 
like a blasphemy. He had been persecuted by the fanatics 
of all countries in whose minds their own doctrines were 
the only true ones; their own ways of seeking God the 
only possible ways; those who imagined that only one road 
led to the Divine. 

More than once, his life had been endangered. 

Our hero sometimes received messages from the noble 
Hindu—precious advices by letter; and then he felt con¬ 
soled, knowing that he was treading the right path and 
that his work was properly controlled. His entire trip 
had been systematically planned to cover a great part of the 
earth. 

He traveled nearly always by aeroplane. Rooms in a 


14 


The Birth of Humanity 


huge air-ship had been arranged for him and he was flying 
from one country to the other without much loss of time. 
It often happened that he made an address in one country 
one day, and on the next day, one in another far removed. 
The Hindu used to send him, every month, a list of towns 
and villages where he should speak. And it seemed that the 
captain of his aeroplane possessed a similar list, since Mr. 
Bicker never had to give any orders. Whenever the 
machine started on a new trip, the speaker was sure to 
arrive in due time at the next appointed station. 

The captain was a strange man—a Hindu of noble 
appearance with an everlasting smile on his bearded face. 
Mr. Bicker sometimes tried to speak with him, to get infor¬ 
mation on the future Event, the coming of which he was 
preparing. 

“Are you in doubt, sir, as to whether the Event will 
take place?” asked the Hindu with a look of wisdom. 

“Not in the least, Captain.” 

“Do you, then, fear that you are on the wrong path?” 

“Not at all.” 

“Why, then, be worried?” 

“But I want to know.” 

“Mr. Bicker is inquisitive.” 

“Perhaps I am.” 

“But you engaged yourself in this splendid work, placing 
confidence in the man who induced you to do so. Have you 
since lost your confidence in that man?” 

“Not in the least.” 

“Why, then, ask questions? Go on as you have been 
and all will be well. You must understand that there are 
reasons why you are left in darkness on some points.” 

Mr. Edward Bicker had a comfortable home in his 
aeroplane; but his apartments occupied only a small part 
of the huge machine, which was as large as a steamer. 


Sura and Asura Arrive 15 

He had sometimes tried to open certain doors but they 
were all carefully locked. 

How large was the crew? He saw the mates, all 
Hindus, always cleaning and polishing the brasswork, oiling 
the machinery and drying towels; but the doors were inac¬ 
cessible to our hero. 

He attempted to speak to the Hindu crew, trying all 
languages he knew, as well as Hindustani, but the sailors 
seemed not to understand one of them. They seemed never 
to speak, at least not in Edward’s presence. 

Who lived in the huge airship ? Sometimes people of all 
nations entered or left the machine, always mute and none 
of them taking the least notice of Mr. Bicker. 

In some places our hero had to pass several days or even 
weeks. In these instances he was invited by the captain to 
go into the hotel where a room was reserved for him. If 
Bicker inquired by whom the room had been reserved he was 
always told, “By Mr. James Smith.” 

When he had occasion to leave the aeroplane for some 
side trip, he found an automobile at the door of his apart¬ 
ment ready to take him to his destination. And when, 
as occasionally he did, he returned to the spot where he had 
left the airship, it had generally disappeared; but on the 
day scheduled for his departure an automobile arrived at his 
hotel or lodging to fetch him, and he always found the 
aeroplane waiting for him at a different place. When all 
was ready the door of his room was closed without notice by 
invisible hands; he heard the faint whirr of the engine and 
off he went. 

On one of the walls of his bedroom was a box for mes¬ 
sages from the captain. Every morning it contained a little 
map, showing the exact location of the airship at sunrise 
and where it should pass during the day. And there were 


16 


The Birth of Humanity 


brief notices relating to the interesting points en route, 
the height of the mountains and the dimensions of the lakes. 
Sometimes the map contained just the words: “Sea the 
whole day long; no land.” 

The captain was wont to suddenly enter Mr. Bicker’s 
room, whenever he wished to call attention to some point of 
interest. For instance: 

“The mountain to your right is Mount Everest, the 
highest peak in the world,” or, “Lake Victoria Nyanza, 
where the Nile has its origin. Look at the Ripon Falls”; or, 
“The Grand Canyon of the Colorado.” 

Our hero was sometimes seized with an almost over¬ 
whelming longing to see his wife again, his children and 
his friends. Three years had passed in constant work for 
a largely unknown purpose; three years of hard work in all 
countries; three years during which some of his children had 
grown into men and women. His eldest son had married 
and become a father. 

His youngest sons were still of school age, and he had 
had to leave their education solely to their mother. Was it 
not his duty to go home and reassume the task he had left to 
others for so many years? So ran his occasional thoughts. 

If he asked the captain if they would soon be in Europe, 
the latter would answer: 

“As soon as your work in other parts of the world is 
over, sir.” 

“And when will that be?” 

“I don’t know. I have only to obey. I have in my 
cabin an itinerary covering six months. It contains brief 
notices. For instance,” he quoted, “leave Brisbane at six 
a. m., half speed; arrive at Newcastle the 6th at two p. m.; 
leave Sydney at six p. m., full speed to Melbourne.” 

“May I see your list?” asked Edward. 

“I may not show it, Mr. Bicker; but, as you know, I 


Sura and Asura Arrive 


17 


sometimes give you a little of our itinerary. All is arranged 
beforehand. At times, I am instructed to leave you in a 
hotel; on other occasions you are to stay but one or two 
days at a place and sleep on board.” 

Edward was fond of the captain, with his haughty looks 
and ever kind manners. Assuredly he was a learned man; 
occasionally he gave our hero advice with regard to his lec¬ 
tures and talks. He was a deep thinker and a clever philos¬ 
opher, with broad views in all that touched human life and 
the progress of the race. But he refused to speak of that 
which concerned the coming Event, and regarding the pas¬ 
sengers of the areoplane. He would not even mention his 
own name: 

“Call me captain, sir. There is but one captain on 
board.” 

The service of the ship was of the best. When Edward 
gave an order it was promptly executed. There was always 
hot water in his bathroom and ice water to drink. His 
meals were served at regular hours and were always of the 
best quality. An hour before dinner a waiter entered to 
ask his master’s pleasure and when Bicker wished a certain 
dish, it was seldom that it could not be procured. 

It would have been impossible to travel in an easier way. 
The huge airship resisted the most terrible storms. If the 
wind raged round her sides, hardly a stronger than ordinary 
vibration was felt, or a deeper sound of the screws heard. 
With admirable ease she rode out the wildest hurricanes; 
they were incapable of even retarding her speed. 

In California, Mr. Bicker owned a house situated on an 
eminence. It was a gift from the mysterious Hindu; and 
sometimes he was left there for weeks or months to rest 
and prepare future lectures. The house was not large, but 
very comfortable; and it was kept in perfect order by two 
servants who lodged in a separate bungalow in the grounds. 


18 


The Birth of Humanity 


The Pacific Ocean lay broad and far in front of the house*, 
and Edward passed long hours at his table under the porch, 
writing, reading or letting his eyes wander out over the 
beauties of the sea. 

At the beginning of this story the reader met our hero 
during one of his periods of lonely home life. 

He sat in his garden mentally watching the rays of the 
sun on the horizon as it continued its glorious course around 
the earth, illuminating the distant sea, while the waves at 
Bicker’s feet were bathed in the darkness of midnight. A 
clear line divided the ocean in two parts—the limit between 
the seen and the unseen. 

A mysterious atmosphere filmed the sky, and only a few 
stars succeeded in manifesting their presence through the 
strange atmosphere of the night. 

What could it be? 

Did the whole world expect a great joy, an event of 
beauty and holiness? 

Bicker scarcely breathed; he was awaiting the unknown; 
his heart beat in his breast with a lightness and an exultation 
never known before. 

Had the long-expected hour struck? 

Was the unknown Hero arriving in all His glory and 
majesty? 

Edward closed his eyes and his cheeks were wet with 
tears. Why was he crying on this holy night when heaven 
and earth were singing the glory of the Eternal ? 

Singing? 

Listen! Listen! 

All the birds in the trees were singing at midnight as 
though heralding the coming of the Hero of the day. The 
concert of sweet bird voices sounded like an angel chorus 
and the little singers seemed to vie with one another in 
enthusiasm. 


Sura and Asura Arrive 


19 


Flowers, which ordinarily awoke only at dawn, opened 
their petals, as if eager to offer their perfume to The Blessed 
One. To the astonishment of their parents, children started 
singing sweet melodies in their sleep. 

A strange silence crept into all places where the frivo¬ 
lous were gathered; idle chatter and laughter were stilled in 
the throats of excited women; the hands of men seemed 
paralyzed; a mysterious lethargy held tongues and fettered 
limbs; a hollow death-knell sounded the end of all trifling 
and vanity. The films in the theaters stopped as if by some 
enchanted power. Curses were changed into prayers. 

“What happened to me?” hoarsely breathed a frivolous 
woman. 

“We are lost!” cried an intoxicated man. 

“The end of the world is near!” 

* * * 

At the seaside the charm continued. All the angels 
seemed to be on their knees. 

People discovered an unusual light in their houses. 

All creation seemed to send up to God a variant hymn 
of praise. 

The heavens shook; God Himself sent blessings out over 
H is Universe. 

Edward Bicker, looking through his tears of enthusiasm, 
saw a large bright star shining through the clouds hovering 
over the sea. 

A moving star! 

It rose from the depths of the shimmering sea at the 
horizon; rose and fell as if floating on ethereal waves. 

A moving star! 

Was it a raging cosmic orb, hastening to destroy the 
earth ? 

Was one of those terrible astronomical collisions at hand, 
like one sees at times in the far nocturnal sky, of which 


20 


The Birth of Humanity 


people speak as a new star creation instead of the destruction 
of two stars? 

Was the earth to be reduced to a gaseous state by con¬ 
tact with another globe? Or was The Eye Divine looking 
at the earth? 

The star drew nearer, its splendor increasing every 
moment. 

It proved to be a huge aeroplane, lighted in some 
mysterious way, approaching with wondrous rapidity. It 
stopped for some moments above the house and a stream of 
colored light hovered above Bicker’s head. It then swerved 
slowly to the right and soon disappeared behind the 
mountains. 

* * * 

The mysterious aeroplane landed near a large seaside 
country seat in California. Nearby was an extensive park 
planted with palms and other ever-green vegetation. The 
doors of the airship were thrown open; a man alighted and 
walked slowly to a splendid building visible through the 
trees. 

He entered a large hall where many people were as¬ 
sembled. All bowed in reverence, and several moments 
passed before they dared lift their eyes to the face of the 
man who had entered their midst. 

They saw a tall man dressed in flowing oriental robes 
reaching to his ankles; a yellow mantle was fastened about 
his neck and hung to his feet; over this was draped a shorter 
one of a violet hue that fell only to the knees. One of his 
white hands was adorned with a mysterious ring, the stone 
of which seemed to spread a phosphorescent light, as the 
hand was lifted in a gesture of benediction. 

The stranger’s face shone with an almost indescribable 
glory and loveliness. His long curly hair and his beard 
were both of a golden hue, crowning and circling about a 


Sura and Asura Arrive 


21 


youthful, oval face with a skin of almost feminine fineness 
of texture. His lightly closed lips spoke of charity and love; 
his shapely nose of mercy and exquisite taste; his high fore¬ 
head of power and indomitable wfill-power. The part in 
the hair above the forehead seemed a thread uniting human 
nature to the Divine. His eyes in their pure and diaphanous 
limpidity seemed at once to embrace the Universe in its 
entirety. 

He mused some moments as He looked upon those as¬ 
sembled before Him. Then he pronounced the sweetest 
of all blessings: 

“Peace to all beings.” 

A sudden light emanating from his heart, filled the 
whole room and surrounded all present. This light, com¬ 
posed of the sacred tints of the rainbow, was thrown out 
with an almost dazzling energy—an outburst of love divine. 
Everyone closed their eyes and when they reopened them 
they knew their hearts were bound closely together in a bond 
of unity. 

A sweet fragrance radiated from the mysterious stranger: 
a perfume uniting the scent of all earthly flowers and that 
of unknown blossoms, an odor incomparable to any 
terrestrial scent. 

He even seemed to speak with a voice of light. His 
every word was encircled within a halo, bestowing blessings 
on his hearers. 

“I am sent to give birth to humanity. The human race 
will be my material. I must bring the stones carefully 
together and cement them with pure love and sacrifice. I 
will build the great temple of humanity, where God will 
dwell.” 

He was silent and the voice of the sea was heard. Then 
waving with his hand toward the numerous chairs, he said: 

“Be seated, my brethren. Ye will all help me in the 


22 


The Birth of Humanity 


accomplishment of my task. From this place light will 
radiate on all the world and ye will be the bearers of its 
beams.” 

Again he was silent for some moments. Then he 
resumed: 

“Not far from here dwells the blessed man who, these 
many years, has been preparing mv coming, opening the 
furrows wherein I will sow the sacred seeds from which 
humanity shall be born. I sent him my blessing, some 
moments ago. Take care of him ; he is the most precious 
of our race. 

“During the fulfillment of his gigantic task he will be 
exposed to many dangers from my brother Asura. Protect 
him, cover him with your shields and pur work shall succeed. 

“We all, my brethren, will be exposed to Asura’s attacks, 
but we are invincible because of our strong will to succeed, 
our wisdom and our unity.” 

Then those assembled were invited to speak and to 
express their individual thoughts. 

Many races were represented, all men of noble stature, 
bearers of power and strong will: the bloom of the human 
race. 

First spoke the Hindu who had engaged Edward Bicker 
to assume the task of preparing the advent of the Light- 
Bringer. He told of Bicker’s noble confidence in him, a 
stranger; how Edward had been separated from his loving 
wife and his lovely children and how he had given up his 
responsible position in the Bicker-Van Nuyss Company to 
wander afar, to speak of charity and unity throughout the 
world; how his enthusiasm was constant, and his heart open 
to his neighbor. 

“A splendid man,” said he, in conclusion, “to whom the 
heavy task has been wisely entrusted.” 

Sura, the Light-Bringer, bowed his head, saying: 


Sura and Asura Arrive 


23 


“He is a worthy brother of his sister.” 

A Chinese told of the work’s progress in his country, 
where Bicker had labored several months: 

“His words blossomed in the hearts of my countrymen 
like flowers in a garden.” 

An American described Edward’s work in the United 
States, in Mexico and in South America: 

“He is a hero whom I admire with all my heart.” 

A Japanese spoke of Bicker’s work among the kimono- 
wearers, describing how eagerly they had accepted the pure 
and noble doctrine; how grateful they were for his advice 
and teachings. 

An Indian recited a poem, composed by a most famous 
Parsi literator to the glory of Edward’s noble endeavors. 

An African described the orator’s long stay in the tropical 
part of the continent, at Bulawayo, the Victoria Falls and 
other parts of the Zambesi River. He told how natives 
used to play hymns of joy when the orator passed, and how 
he was considered a holy man. One of the natives had 
said of him: 

“He is a star plucked from the sky.” 

An inhabitant of Sydney told a story in which Edward 
had behaved like an ideal Christian; he described how the 
orator had been slandered in the papers, how he forgave his 
enemies and was at last accorded public acceptance in the 
most splendid way. 

Sura listened, touched. A soft and tender light emanated 
from his eyes. Then he said with a trembling voice: 

“After my departure, this faithful servant will reap the 
harvest of the seeds he has sown.” 

He then looked at the list of names of all those present, 
reading them aloud and mentioning the country where they 
should go. Each bowed his head in sign of obedience. 

Sura then left the hall, followed by his devotees. He 


24 


The Birth of Humanity 


stood, like a tall tree, for a long time in the darkness, 
looking into the distance, hands clasped. Those present 
awaited the sign that would send them away, wondering in 
what part of the universe Sura’s lofty thoughts were linger¬ 
ing at the moment. He was more than a man—teacher of 
Angels and Archangels, beloved of God; he was a cosmic 
being sent unto the human race to help give birth to a new 
instrument in God’s hand—humanity. 

All watched him as he stood beside the sea, surrounded 
by the mysterious light which emanated from his heart. 

Was he a human being? 

Yes, he was. The assistants watched the majestic calm¬ 
ness of the rise and fall of his breath beneath his splendid 
garments. 

Was he a god ? 

He looked like a divine being. 

Sura turned round and walked slowly to the place 
where a whole group of aeroplanes waited for their pas¬ 
sengers. He lingered as if expecting some message. His 
eyes were lifted toward the sky, where twinkled the stars 
with a kindly light. 

He waited—waited. 

Then suddenly his face was lighted by a glorious smile 
and he said with a kind voice: 

“Be gone, my brethren, the time has come.” 

Each hastened to his aeroplane and in less than ten 
minutes all were gone. 

Sura watched them flying over the ocean, like red stars 
hastening toward a distant goal. When they had disap¬ 
peared, he slowly sat down, looking at the strange, and yet 
natural phenomenon of the hour: the sun, whose light could 
not, under the circumstances, disappear during the whole 
night. The orb continued its course round the horizon, 


Sura and Asura Arrive 25 

lighting the brim of the sea with mysterious hues, without 
actually showing itself. 

Sura sat motionless for a long time. What lofty thoughts 
burned behind that high forehead ? Probably thoughts 
relating to the immense task resting upon the shoulders of 
Sura, the Light-Bringer, a task which only he could accom¬ 
plish ; he, the leader of all spiritual movements of the world: 
the task of giving birth to humanity! 

* * * 

At the same moment, another great event took place in 
a distant part of the world. 

The sun shed its splendid rays on the holy city of Benares, 
and the minarets of Aurangzeb’s mosque which dominates 
the river-scene, seemed to receive them with open arms. 
A wondrous cheerfulness reigned everywhere. The domes 
of the Golden Temple glittered with an unusual splendor 
and the sacred river Ganges seemed to flow with an increased 
speed, pushing its waves onward to the far-off ocean. 

The population of the splendid town walked with quick¬ 
ened steps, laughing in an unusual tone, and irritating one 
another without plausible reason—a state of mind which 
must necessarily lead to some reaction. 

And so it did! At a certain hour, the sky seemed to 
take fire. The sun shone through a thick red vapor, which 
soon enshrouded the entire city. An increasing unrest swept 
the country. The birds stopped singing; the flowers faded ; 
the fishes in the river jumped out of the water as if trying 
to flee some submarine foe. The corpses of the children 
floating on the surface of the Ganges, shivered. The dogs 
barked, and the tigers roared in their cages. Enormous 
birds of prey circled around the mosques, the monkeys of 
the Durga Temple voiced terrible shrieks and the priests 
ceased their bloody sacrifices. 


26 


The Birth of Humanity 


The palaces of the Rajahs trembled. Trees became 
agitated without wind and the corn in the fields waved 
and shook as if animals were walking through it! 

Suddenly the river was lashed into a fury; high waves 
appeared and dashed themselves against the “Ghats,” de¬ 
molishing the light structures along the banks and washing 
away the corpses that lay on burning piles close by. Even 
the quiet cows in the Golden Temple ceased eating flowers 
and attempted escape. 

The people felt as if a great calamity were at hand and 
looked at one another with stupefied eyes. Suddenly a flash 
of lightning was seen in the distance, but no sound was 
heard. 

Some hours later, all these extraordinary conditions 
abruptly ceased, as though by virtue of some strange en¬ 
chantment; the inhabitants of the city resumed their work 
and normal habits, and none was capable of explaining the 
recent phenomena. 

* * * 

What had happened ? 

Asura had come down to oppose his brother Sura. Four 
miles farther, near Sarnath, an aeroplane had landed, bear¬ 
ing the great opposer. He alighted from his ship and walked 
with rapid, elastic step to the large hall, where his followers 
were waiting his arrival. 

In a moment he had reached the throne and climbed the 
few steps to his chair. Then as he remained standing he 
looked at the assistants, all of whom were lying upon the 
floor, faces downward. 

An awe-inspiring silence reigned in the room, and the 
sound of a distant quarrel in the town was heard. 

Smiling despisingly, Asura looked a moment at the figures 
prostrate at his feet. Then through a hard, ironical laugh, 
he said: 


Sura and Asura Arrive 


27 


“Stand up, cowards!” 

And as if moved by a spring, those commanded stood on 
their feet. 

Asura was a tall, beautiful man, revealing power and 
strength of mind and body. The first impression he gave 
was: “I never saw such a beautiful boy.” But looking 
nearer, one soon discovered that he was a grown man wdth 
well proportioned limbs and a body like an angel’s. His 
handsome, beardless face was shadowed by a profusion of 
curly, auburn hair, and a boyish smile lit his delicately 
molded features. His admirable forehead seemed actually 
radiant. His appearance was in every way that of an ideal 
hero. 

The most glorious purity shone in the depth of his dark, 
smiling eyes. 

Purity in that powerful, victorious man? Purity in 
the great opposer? 

Yes, the most sincere purity lived in those deep, beautiful, 
inspiring eyes. 

There can be no real heroism without purity. Purity 
is power, impurity is weakness. 

Asura was a hero, though the most tragic of heroes. 

His powerful, yet slender body and his mighty arms 
were capable of crushing all resistance. He was invincible 
—except by one. 

His graceful limbs were wrapt in dark green velvet 
robes, the ample folds of which reached nearly to the ground. 

Suddenly a blinding light streamed forth from his body 
and all the bystanders again fell upon their faces. The 
light was fascinating in its intensity and sharpness, but one 
had to close his eyes or be blinded. 

Asura sat down and an expression of deep sorrow over¬ 
spread his face. He was thinking of Sura, the Light- 
Bringer, whom he had to oppose and whom he called his 


28 


The Birth of Humanity 


brother. Tears appeared in his eyes. But he soon con¬ 
trolled himself and said in a sharp tone: 

“Up! Cowards, up! Tell me what you have been 
doing.” 

And the fallen ones stood upon their feet, still shading 
their eyes with their hands. 

None dared speak. 

He called them all by name, asking what they had 
been doing in the great work of opposing Sura, the Light- 
Bringer. They spoke with trembling voices, looking at 
each other with shifting, troubled eyes. 

They spoke, one after the other, of their work in vary¬ 
ing countries. They also had their orator, whose task it 
was to oppose Edward Bicker as much as possible; he was 
our hero’s opposite even as Asura was the Light-Bringer’s 
reverse. The man was peculiarly inspired and well paid 
by Asura’s followers; and he was a splendid orator with a 
great talent for speaking foreign languages. 

“I led him through Burma,” said one of the men. 
“He foretold that another orator would soon appear, an 
immoral man who spoke noble words falsely.” 

Asura interrupted him, saying: 

“You are a fool. In the future don’t speak against 
Bicker’s conduct. His purity is as certain as your falsity.” 

Another said: 

“I accompanied him in Ceylon, where he had great suc¬ 
cess, predicting the arrival of an impostor, who would try 
to spoil the religion of the country.” 

Asura but shrugged his shoulders and with scorn in his 
eyes, asked: “Did they believe him? No, they laughed 
at him.” Another speaker falteringly explained himself, his 
eyes downcast, incapable of facing Asura’s shining light: 

“I induced him to slander Mr. Bicker; to tell that he 
was a bankrupt.” 



Sura and Asura Arrive 


29 


Asura sprang from his seat, stamping with rage, and his 
voice sounded like the roaring of a lion: 

“You are crazy! Slandering a man is always foolish. 
A telegram from Europe would contradict the lie in a 
moment. You have all served me in the worst way. I 
don’t want slanderers, but people who understand Mr. 
Bicker’s doctrine and know how to demolish it. It is easy 
to undermine even the purest wisdom. 

“To do so you must be wise in your own way. I have 
never told you to be scoundrels. 

“You have to instruct the base man you use, in the 
black art you enjoy so much. You can teach him how to 
use many natural forces which he still ignores. But be 
careful to instruct him gradually; otherwise he would 
destroy you with himself.” 

He caught up a list, handed him by a kneeling servant, 
glanced at it and distributed the several sheets among the 
men. This list had to do with the parts the men were to 
play in the great tragedy. In a commanding voice, he in¬ 
structed them as to how they should behave in future. 
Then he commanded: 

“Clear out!” 

And they did, eagerly, jostling each other at the door, 
glad to flee from their terrible master. 

Asura watched them depart in their several aeroplanes, 
quarreling the while in suppressed voices. Presently they 
had all disappeared, like a flock of birds of prey. 

The Opposer stood a long time before the window 
facing the town: a jumble of temples and palaces, crowned 
by Aurangzeb’s mosque, which opened its arms to the sky, 
eager to receive the blessing of the Divine. 

Asura sighed. 

“The arms of my temple sink deep into the earth,” he 
whispered. 


30 


The Birth of Humanity 


He mused on Sura, whom he called his brother, and on 
other Light-Bringers he had opposed during his endless 
career. He remembered the time when he had appeared as 
Ravana, Devadatta, and Shishupala, always working against 
progress and evolution. The difficulties Christ had met 
with, had also been produced by him. 

Now he appeared under the name of Emmanuel, to 
oppose the great Sura, whose task it was to give birth to 
humanity. 

But humanity could not be born without Asura’s assis¬ 
tance ; his visit to the earth was as necessary as Sura’s. 

Absorbed in these thoughts, he left the house and went 
to his aeroplane. The door of the machine closed and he 
darted away like a flash of lightning. 

# * * 

Edward Bicker was still sitting in his garden, looking 
at the sun that continued its mysterious course just beneath 
the horizon. Then it rose in all its glory, above the moun¬ 
tains, and the night was gone. 

Suddenly a messenger from the Hindu appeared before 
our hero. 

“Now we have prepared for you a great pleasure, Mr. 
Bicker,” said the man with a smile. “Come with me.” 

He conducted our hero into a little structure near the 
house and invited him to sit down. He explained that 
they were in a wireless telephone station, communicating 
with Bicker’s home in Europe. In the future he would 
speak with his family as if he were in his own house. An¬ 
other installation enabled him to even see the persons with 
whom he was speaking and they could see him. The Hindu 
showed him how to operate the controls and some moments 
later he saw his wife appear on a screen and he heard her 
voice. 

“I am so happy to see and hear you, my dear Edward,” 


Sura and Asura Arrive 


31 


said Ann, his wife. “All these three years we have ex¬ 
changed only telegrams and letters, but now all is right.” 

“My dear Ann,” said Edward, deeply moved, “how little 
you have changed during all those hard years; you are always 
my same dear wife of old.” 

Their conversation was soon of the children. John, the 
eldest, twenty-three years old, was married and had a baby. 
Edward, the second, having reached the age of twenty-two, 
had just been graduated from the university, and was now 
an attorney at Amsterdam. The eldest girl, Mary, called 
after Edward’s mother, was now twenty. Juliet, the 
younger, called after her late aunt, was fifteen. The two 
younger boys were Richard, aged twelve, called after his 
uncle, and Donald, the baby of the family, now nine.* 

Edward talked a long time with his beloved wife, looking 
into her frank, clear eyes as if they were really together, and 
not separated by half the earth. The proof of this was the 
fact that our hero in California, at night, talked with his 
wife in Amsterdam at noon. 

And she, knowing this was going to happen, had pre¬ 
pared an added pleasure for her husband by bringing to¬ 
gether the whole family. Successively all appeared on the 
screen before Bicker’s eyes. 

First, John and his wife together. 

“Father,” said John, “may I introduce my dear wife, 
Clara ?” 

And Bicker saw a youthful couple, laughing and happy, 
John carrying his son. The young father continued: 

“Dear father, I present to you our son, William, aged 
six weeks.” 

Baby William bubbled over with laughter as he leaned 


*A11 the persons who had given Christian names to Bicker’s children 
are known to the readers of the author’s previous volume, entitled: 
"Tuned Higher Than The Race.” 



32 


The Birth of Humanity 


toward the place where he discovered a kind face. And he 
kissed the screen. 

Then appeared Edward, Junior, a tall and handsome 
young man, who told his father about the studies he had 
just finished. 

When Juliet’s sweet face appeared on the screen, Edward 
felt deeply moved. She was just like his beloved sister, who 
had died young and for whom he cherished a great and 
reverent love. 

“My dear, dear Juliet,” said the father. “How glad 
I am to see you; you have grown into a lovely girl.” 

“And you remain my good and dear father. How I 
would love to kiss you!” 

Mary succeeded her sister on the screen, a nice girl, 
and the counterpart of her mother when at the same age. 

Richard and Donald appeared together, now sturdy 
boys, and babies when the father had left them. 

Then Bicker was again alone with his wife. 

“How well you care for our dear children, Ann. They 
all look so happy and healthy.” 

“They are, my dear Edward; they are worthy of their 
father.” 

They continued to converse for a long time, talking of 
olden days, when they were educating their children and 
never went to rest before having discussed the interests 
of their dear ones. 

Now they were brought nearer together, and whenever 
Edward was allowed to stay in California, they would 
appear on the screen and hear each others’ voices. 


Chapter II 


THE WORLD-TEACHER AND HIS OPPOSER 

Edward Bicker’s history has been told in a previous 
volume. Briefly summarized, it runs as follows: 

Our hero was the son of Mr. John Bicker, a wealthy 
merchant at Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. 
He came to them so late in their married life that his parents 
might easily have been his grandparents. Edward’s brother 
Richard was twenty years older than he; his sister Juliet 
twelve years his senior. 

Because his mother fancied herself to be weak and ill, she 
soon left the care of her last child largely to her daughter, 
Juliet, who assumed the responsibility of educating her little 
brother; and she did it with praiseworthy care and solici¬ 
tude. Juliet was almost the only person who cared for the 
child, the only one who loved him with all her heart and 
exerted a lasting influence on his future religious life. 

Edward was disconsolate when Juliet died, leaving him 
practically alone in the parental home at the age of nine¬ 
teen. Soon thereafter he became an important merchant 
and manager of the Bicker-Van Nuyss Company. Through 
his and Mr. Van Nuyss’ endeavors the firm was soon known 
throughout the mercantile world. 

Some years later, he was elected a member of the Cham¬ 
ber of Deputies, where his advice was generally appreciated. 

Edward Bicker was a religious man, a manager of and 
an important contributor to his church; a trustee of many 
charitable institutions, and, in short, one of the most im¬ 
portant men of his country. 

At the age of twenty-eight he married his cousin, Ann 


34 


The Birth of Humanity 


Fraser, and in less than ten years six children were born 
to them, four being boys and two girls. 

Edward belonged to an orthodox Protestant church and 
considered himself an orthodox Christian; but his orthodoxy 
was free from bigotry and dogmatisms. He appreciated 
the Christian spirit not only in the Christian religion, but 
also in Buddhism, in Confucius’ doctrine and in the Vedas, 
as well as in Shintoism and Zoroaster’s scriptures. From 
his youth, he had studied all the religions and philosophies 
of the world, and his personal religious wisdom was com¬ 
posed of all the noble and good ideas he collected from 
all countries. 

“My heart is cosmopolitan,’’ he used to say. “It em¬ 
braces all human beings.” 

“Then it will soon burst, I fear,” said his friends jest¬ 
ingly. 

“No danger of that; there is room for many others.” 

He soon became a very well known lecturer on religion 
and philosophy, appreciated not only in his own country but 
also in many others. Because of his connection with the 
Bicker-Van Nuyss Company he was enabled to travel in all 
parts of the world, and he used this opportunity to speak 
everywhere on his favorite subjects. 

He was a member of the Pan-Philosophic Society, the 
divisions of which were spread all over the world, and whose 
members studied and propagated the philosophies of all 
countries and all times; a society that had been of great help 
to him in his early studies and on behalf of which he often 
lectured. 

H is last act in Europe had been the organization of a 
large company, the “World Religion Society,” with the 
purpose of studying all the religions of the world and fur¬ 
thering a brotherhood of religions. 

This circumstance caused a great revolution in the later 


The World-Teacher and His Opposer 35 

part of his life. He was soon visited by a Hindu, who 
entreated him to abandon his family and the Bicker-Van 
Nuyss Company to devote himself to an extensive task, 
which, however, was not clearly explained to him at the time. 

“Trust me, Mr. Bicker,” the Hindu had said. “You 
will, in a certain way, be the savior of the human race. 
We want a pioneer for our great work and we have chosen 
you; no one is better prepared for the work at this moment 
than yourself. For the present you will have to go on 
lecturing in all countries of the world on religion and 
philosophy.” 

The Hindu had made so deep an impression of power 
and wisdom upon him that Bicker had accepted the proposi¬ 
tion, which would practically exile him for many years from 
his family and his country. 

His first voyage took him to Egypt, where the Hindu 
had made an appointment with him at a certain place near 
the pyramids of Gize. Arriving there Bicker discovered a 
huge machine, seemingly a ship, stranded in the desert, but 
which soon revealed itself as a large aeroplane of unprece¬ 
dented structure and gigantic dimensions. 

He was invited by a bowing Hindu to take possession of 
his new home consisting of a large living room with a 
splendid library, a dining room and a sleeping room, besides 
a large storage room for his trunks and bags. On the top 
of his apartment, dominating the whole ship, stretched a 
spacious deck with awnings, easy chairs and tables. 

As he entered his apartments he realized to his astonish¬ 
ment that the aeroplane had already started. Cairo and the 
pyramids looked like children’s toys in the distance. He 
had not even noticed the closing of the doors nor the motion 
of the screws. 

For some days the airship sailed above the deserts. The 
captain sometimes came to talk with his distinguished pas- 


36 


The Birth of Humanity 


senger, but Edward seldom got any information from him. 
If he inquired after the crew the captain answered: 

“Are you well served, Mr. Bicker?” 

“Very well.” 

“Do you wish something more in your rooms?” 

“Nb, sir ” 

“Then do not concern yourself with the crew.” 

Edward would sometimes sit for hours with the captain 
on the deck, looking at the landscape. During these periods 
all was explained to him in detail. The captain seemed a 
storehouse of geographic and ethnologic knowledge. He was 
acquainted with the height of the mountains, the course of 
the rivers and the population of the towns. Sometimes the 
ship sailed at a great distance above the earth, but at other 
times she neared the land and the captain said, pointing 
to some object: 

“I will show you this thing better, Mr. Bicker.” 

He then spoke a word and the aeroplane went down. 
Sometimes it stopped at an interesting point and was held 
stationary for a long time in the air by an unknown power. 

When required she would settle quite near the ground 
to take in huge packages, prepared for her. Without stop¬ 
ping, some hooks were lowered and the boxes disappeared 
in the body of the ship. 

When the aeroplane passed through countries where 
the temperature sank below a certain degree, Edward’s 
rooms were heated and maintained usually at 65 degrees, 
though our hero himself was able to regulate the temperature. 

His library contained serious works, most of which 
treated of religion, philosophy and science; but the great 
novelists and poets of all nations were represented by the 
best works they had given to the world. The rooms also 
contained pictures by famous Dutch masters of the seven¬ 
teenth century, and some works of sculpture. A pipe organ 


The World-Teacher and His Opposer 37 

and a piano were included in the furnishings. The windows 
could be opened from the inside to let in the fresh air, but 
the doors opened only from without. 

One day he asked the captain the name of the Hindu 
who had engaged him to pledge himself for the great un¬ 
known work. 

“We call him, Brother,” was the evasive answer. 

“But that cannot be his name, captain.” 

“It is the name all human beings should deserve.” 

“They ought.” 

“And no man has more right to bear that name than the 
man you speak of; his heart is the heart of all beings.” 

“And will I not see him again?” 

“Not before the Great Event has taken place.” 

“When will it be ?” 

“I may not speak about that.” 

During three long years Edward Bicker had traveled 
about the world, bringing his religious and philosophic ideas 
to all peoples, to all circles, to all persons, willing to listen 
to his word; and he made friends everywhere, devoted 
friends willing to burden themselves with a part of the task. 
In hundreds of places, he founded branches of his World- 
Religion Society and nearly all showed signs of a healthy life 
in their work; all were constantly growing and many of 
them formed branches like a plant sending out its roots to 
create offsprings roundabout. The main office of the society 
at Amsterdam was an important building where a large staff 
of clerks cared for the spiritual interests of the members. 

Three years of hard work had had a great influence on 
our hero’s character. Up to the day of his entrance into his 
new life the greater part of his thoughts had been absorbed 
by the large business he was managing. Since he had left 
his home, however, his only care had been the heavy lecture 
work he had assumed. He was bringing spiritual knowledge 


38 


The Birth of Humanity 


to all people, and no one can devote all his energy to the 
reaching of so high a work without being strongly influenced 
by his own endeavors. His knowledge had increased and 
his way of bringing it to the public had improved. He felt 
purified, strengthened and uplifted. He had been for so long 
a time meditating on God and speaking on religious subjects 
that he no longer felt himself, but an instrument of higher 
powers. m # * 

He had been living for some weeks in his new Cali¬ 
fornia home when he participated in the events narrated in 
the previous chapter. Next day his large aeroplane arrived 
and stopped at the usual place behind the house and he 
immediately embarked, carrying along only the manuscript 
he was working at, knowing that he would find all the 
things he wanted in his rooms on board. 

Some minutes later he floated over the ocean, going west¬ 
ward, probably to Asia. The weather being warm and 
pleasant he ascended the few steps leading to his private deck 
and was astonished to find there, seated in an easy chair, the 
Hindu he had met three years earlier at Amsterdam. 

“Good morning, Mr. Bicker/’ said the man in a kind 
voice. “We are going to Japan and have some days to pass 
on the ship. They afford me the opportunity of explaining 
to you many things you should now know. 

“Let me first thank you for the confidence you have had 
in me during the last three years, and for your faithful ser¬ 
vice, following the orders you received. 

“This morning you embarked on two minutes’ notice 
without knowing where you were going. You understand, 
Mr. Bicker, how a spiritual cause should be served. You 
did not even say good-bye to your family through your wire¬ 
less telephone. This means that you understand the impor¬ 
tance of time in a cosmic work such as the one we are 
engaged in. 


The World-Teacher and His Opposer 


39 


“Up to this moment you have obeyed without knowing 
from whom the orders came. In the future, you will be able 
to judge for yourself.” 

Edward felt relieved at these words. The veil would 
be lifted. 

The Hindu resumed: 

“A great event has taken place this night. A World- 
Teacher, the almighty Sura, has come to teach the human 
race.” 

He looked at Bicker’s face on which a great astonishment 
was seen. But our hero did not interrupt the speaker. 

“Do you know, Mr. Bicker, what the word ‘World- 
Teacher’ means?” 

“I think that Christ was a World-Teacher, the greatest 
of all. Zoroaster and Buddha were World-Teachers of a 
lower degree and Mohammed of a still lower.” 

The Hindu smiled. 

“You seem to be able to measure the World-Teachers, 
Mr. Bicker. How can you judge of the greatness and the 
lesser greatness of the men you are speaking of? 

“But this is of no importance for the moment. A World- 
Teacher is a man whose spiritual doctrine is spread or will 
be spread throughout the whole or a part of the world. 

“When do you think that the World-Teachers come, 
Mr. Bicker?” 

“In times of peace, when charity prevails,” he replied. 

“What do you think of the present time, Mr. Bicker?” 

“We have just experienced long years of wars and revo¬ 
lutions. Hatred is still rampant in all parts of the earth.” 

“You are right,” said the Hindu. “It seems that there 
is no righteousness in the world. Famine decimates the 
people; many children are weak and helpless.” 

“It is a terrible time,” agreed Mr. Bicker. 

“It is, Mr. Bicker, but what do you deduce from this 


40 


The Birth of Humanity 


fact?—that the World-Teacher does not come in a time of 
peace and happiness; he comes now when wars and revolu¬ 
tion rage. Whenever the world falls into great sorrow and 
misery, whenever unbelief and evil are triumphant, he comes 
to bring the truth. Nature herself calls him.” 

After having spoken these words, the Hindu seemed to 
meditate. His bright eyes were fixed on the sea the surface 
of which was stirred by a soft, lazy wind. A large ship rode 
the surface of the ocean, leaving behind her two long white 
trails, spreading apart like two huge horns, running toward 
the horizon. Three albatrosses spreading their large, slender 
wings over the water, followed the ship, seemingly, almost 
stationary, but in reality flying as fast as the fast-moving 
steamer itself. 

Edward’s aeroplane descended slowly to the waves and 
the huge birds left the ship they were following to get near 
the airship which they nearly touched with their wings. 
Edward could almost lay his hand on the large heads with 
their formidable bills. 

The Hindu awoke from his reverie and continued 
speaking. 

“The World-Teacher has arrived. What will be his 
work, Mr. Bicker?” 

“To give new spiritual truths to humanity.” 

“He has come to give Birth to Humanity ” said the Hin¬ 
du. “People think that humanity exists, but it does not. 
Only the human race exists. Men are like scattered stones, 
but they are splendid material for the building of the 
Temple of Humanity. All human beings have to be com¬ 
bined in one great harmonious accord, ready to be thrown 
into the universe like a blessing. Humanity will be an in¬ 
strument in God’s hands. In reality humanity is much more 
than that, but I cannot explain that now.” 


The World-Teacher and His Opposer 


41 


At this moment the captain appeared and was invited to 
be seated. Then the Hindu went on: 

“There have been World-Teachers—real conquerors of 
the human mind—and many other teachers, whose doctrine 
has reached but a small part of the race. But this time 
the great head of all spiritual movements has arrived, the 
one Supreme Teacher of the world, whose voice is music 
and whose heart is love; the great purifier, the great unifier. 

“In olden times, the choice of the teacher was limited; 
it was determined by a people, a race; but the best man avail¬ 
able was always chosen. We cannot judge this, Mr. Bicker. 

“Now, the human race has improved; internationality is 
no more an unknown conception and the possibilities of 
traveling cannot be compared to those of centuries ago. The 
teacher can now cover in one month a greater part of the 
earth than could formerly be done in years. And each 
of his words may be known throughout the world in one 
day. 

“Sura, the Light-Bringer, the High-Priest of the human 
race, came from afar to unite the scattered material and 
lay the cornerstone of the building. But humanity can 
really grow only when all human beings feel happy, when 
all adverse conditions have disappeared; when hate and envy 
have ceased to separate the inhabitants of this earth. You 
are doubtless able, Mr. Bicker, to understand without further 
explanation what has to be done. And now it is your turn, 
captain,” he finished. 

The captain bowed, and said: 

“Our Brother has spoken of the necessity of the uniting 
of the human race into a harmonious whole. I will speak 
of the unifying of religion, which is the great explainer of 
the Divine Will. The religions will not soon be united into 
one doctrine. This would not, as yet, be possible, not even 


42 


The Birth of Humanity 


advisable. But a Brotherhood of Religions must ultimately 
be created. People must give up the illusion that their own 
religion is the only soul-saving doctrine. All true religions 
originated from one source; all teachers have been sent, and 
will be sent, by God. Nothing can happen contrary to God’s 
will, because He is Almighty. 

“Sura’s work, which is at the same time yours, will be 
to unite the religions, and the human beings will be united 
at the same time. All antagonism must be abolished and 
discord removed. There must no longer exist sectarian 
hospitals and orphanages, Mohammedan universities nor 
Panchama schools. Let all those institutions be accessible 
to all.” 

All were silent for some time and higher influences seemed 
to descend from heaven and rest upon all three, who were 
talking about things divine and unknown to the average 
man. 

Black clouds were accumulating on the distant horizon, 
like great lumps of inky material, and assuming extraordinary 
shapes. They floated at the edge of the sky like islands, 
separated from each other by dark blue lagoons, forming a 
striking contrast with the sharply-drawn edges of the clouds. 
They seemed to threaten the bold aeroplane which, regard¬ 
less of the elements, was going undaunted to meet them. 
But the clouds seemingly withdrew as speedily as the ship 
advanced. 

The Hindu spoke again: 

“Do not imagine, Mr. Bicker, that Sura’s mission is an 
easy one, for it is not. He has to master great difficulties. 
Sura came not alone. Asura came with him.” 

“Who is Asura?” asked Edward astonished. 

“Asura is the great opposer.” 

The Hindu and his disciple were now alone again, the 
captain having left to resume his duties. 




The World-Teacher and His Opposer 43 

“You are a learned man, Mr. Bicker,” said the Hindu 
with a smile. “You must understand that all the universe is 
maintained in equilibrium. Our earth, for instance, gravi¬ 
tates round the sun in perfect equilibrium between the cen¬ 
trifugal and the centripetal forces. Remove one of the two 
forces and the earth is lost. An object in space cannot exist 
without both of them. 

“It is the same with moral objects—all existing by their 
antitheses; good is the antithesis of bad; warm of cold; pure 
of impure; pretty of ugly; light of obscurity; virtue of sin; 
white of black and so on. One cannot have existence with¬ 
out the other. 

“It is true that at the end of all things, the antitheses 
will cease to be. Then there will be good and pure alone, 
light without darkness, white without shadow. But mortals 
of today are unable to comprehend this.” He kept silent 
again for some moments, then he resumed: 

“In the same way, Sura is accompanied by Asura, his 
opposite, the Great Opposer, as he is called. 

“In the beginning of all things, God’s servants divided 
among themselves the heavy task which was to be accom¬ 
plished ; some had to create, others to oppose.” 

“Why is opposition needed?” asked Edward in a low tone. 

“Because no strength can be generated without resistance. 
Take, for instance, a man, who wishes to develop the muscles 
of his arms. In what way does he reach that purpose? By 
using an obstacle—weights, halters, which work against his 
forces. His effort is to lift them up, the force of gravitation 
of the earth opposes him. The more the man and the op¬ 
posing energy fight each other, the more the man’s muscles 
will be developed, and the heavier the halters—this means 
the heavier the opposition—the stronger the man’s muscles 
will grow. 

“Some people ask: How can it be that God created Satan 


44 


The Birth of Humanity 


and other demons, and allowed them to oppose His will? 
God created them because the universe could not exist with¬ 
out energy and because energy could not grow without 
resistance.’ ’ 

The captain came back and said some words to the Hindu 
in a language unknown to Edward. Surprise and even 
anguish were for a moment to be seen on the Hindu’s face, 
but he soon regained his composed expression, and he 
resumed: 

“I said that in the beginning some of God’s servants had 
to choose the creative task, the light-side; others the opposing 
task, the dark-side. The first accomplish a task of beauty; 
they develop virtues in the human beings; the latter fulfill 
the heavy task of generating trouble and ingratitude. They 
oppose by trying to develop vices, in order that energy and 
strength may come forth—and are cursed by the ignorant. 

“All human beings are subject to the white and black 
energies, which fight each other in the depths of their souls 
till the right force is predominantly developed and the black 
energies are overwhelmed. 

“All people are tempted, as we say. Temptations are 
necessary to form character. Strength of character can only 
be obtained by overcoming temptations. 

“Only weak, undeveloped, uncivilized peoples (young 
souls) are in the beginning protected against temptations, 
because enticements would destroy them; but as man ad¬ 
vances on his path of development, he meets temptations, in 
order that he may overcome them and use them as stepping- 
stones, leading to perfection. 

“The man who would develop his muscles must, as much 
as possible, oppose the temptation to throw away his halters; 
the longer he keeps them in his hands, the more his muscles 
will grow. He knows this and makes use of increasingly 
heavier halters: of stronger oppositions. So a developed 


The World-Teacher and His Opposer 45 

character will be strengthened by overcoming ever stronger 
temptations.” 

The clouds at the horizon became darker and darker 
with increasing black spots and inexplicable inky currents 
and whirlpools ever visible around them. 

Seemingly a terrible tragedy was at hand. 

Bicker feared that the aeroplane, which was running in 
that direction, would be engulfed in the eddy visible on the 
horizon. 

He looked at the Hindu and the captain, who both smiled, 
and whispered in an unknown language. Presently the 
Hindu resumed his speech: 

“What has been said concerns all creation, all parts of 
which can only be evolved with the assistance of opposition. 

“The birth and growth of humanity can only be per¬ 
petuated by means of conflict and opposition. Sura is the 
Father of humanity, Asura is the Opposer, the generator of 
strength; the one is as necessary as the other. It will be a 
titanic struggle, but Sura will be victorious. Both are 
aware of this fact. 

“Asura is always the opposing mate of the World- 
Teachers: In Krishna’s time he was Shishupala; in 
Buddha’s time he was Devadatta; in Palestine he worked 
against Christ. He succeeded in destroying Jesus’ body, but 
not His glorious doctrine, that will last as long as the 
world. Asura chose the opposing part in creation and must 
play it to the end. 

“A cosmic event is at hand, Mr. Bicker; an occurrence 
that will for some time disturb the world; humanity will 
evolve from the human race with pain, but the outcome will 
be splendid: The Diamond Age . 

“This Diamond Age,” continued the Hindu, “will be 
born through the conjunctive efforts of Sura and Asura and 
their hosts of followers. 


46 


The Birth of Humanity 


“Asura’s followers are unable to co-operate with each 
other; they are full of hate, malice and antagonism; always 
quarreling, imagining that they can do all things alone. 
They are egotism incarnated, and all that is bad and base 
is thrown by them onto the human race, in order to tempt it. 

“In Sura’s camp, all is harmony and co-operation. This 
is the reason Sura will always be victorious. 

“Now, Mr. Bicker, be so kind as to think over all we 
have said to you this morning. There are still many things 
to be explained, but I will not overburden your mind now. 
I will cross your path again and we will have further occa¬ 
sion to converse along these lines. Now look at what 
happens!” 

The black clouds were very near. They seemed to rush 
upon the air-machine with an alarming fury. Suddenly a 
terrible gush of wind struck the plane, which seemed not 
even to notice it; with her steady calmness she cleft the 
tremendous draughts, throwing aside all impediments, and 
continued on her way to the west, without being turned an 
inch from her appointed course. 

She was now in the midst of a dreadful thunder-storm; 
lightning and thunder came at the same time, and the terrific 
voice of the gale added its violence to the tumult of nature. 
It was as if all the demons of the sky were co-operating to 
destroy the daring vessel which, undaunted, rushed into the 
heart of the storm. The terrific wind gusts buffeted the 
airship, in an effort to destroy her. 

How could such a huge ship be demolished even by the 
strongest natural forces? She seemed to mock every attempt 
upon her existence. 

But an unusual event was at hand. Edward saw a huge 
object emerging from the clouds like an ocean steamer thrown 
into the air and pursuing its course at a great distance from 
the sea. 


The World-Teacher and His Opposer 47 

The Hindu cried a word to the captain who disappeared 
and two seconds later the aeroplane was shaken from stem 
to stern with the sudden effort to turn it aside. A mo¬ 
ment later another aeroplane as large as Edward’s passed 
so close that they all but touched. 

Edward discerned upon the deck of the other ship a boy 
clad in ample green robes, draped in graceful folds around 
his tall, slender figure—a king, proud and powerful, like an 
angel of light. His face was serious, his lofty brow was 
marked by a deep wrinkle ; his lips were contracted in an 
unusual way and his eyes were lighted with a mysterious fire. 

Edward’s breath seemed to stop. He felt faint. 

At the moment the youth’s gaze rested upon Edward, his 
noble face was lit up with a smile, resembling a sunbeam. 
The air was filled with songs and a sweet perfume scented 
the sky. 

The Hindu bowed deeply as if in the presence of a 
superior. 

Edward was deeply moved; his eyes were filled with 
tears. Never in his life had he been witness to so grand a 
spectacle. Its memory would never fade; he had seen a 
superhuman being. 

The mysterious aeroplane vanished in a moment. 

“Who was that man?” asked Edward in a faltering 
voice. And the Hindu answered: 

“Asura, the Divine.” 

“He looks like a god.” 

“Perhaps he is.” 

The Hindu sat down and meditated a long time, his eyes 
toward the sky, which had resumed its azure hue. The 
clouds, a black chaos, were hurrying to the east and soon 
vanished at the horizon, leaving a clarified atmosphere of 
danger past. 

“Has there been any danger for our ship ?” asked Edward. 


48 


The Birth of Humanity 


“No, Mr. Bicker,” answered the Hindu, smiling. 

Some moments later, the captain came back and resumed 
his seat on the deck, welcomed with the Hindu’s smile. 

“If Mr. Bicker has some questions to ask,” said the 
Brother, “I will perhaps be able to answer them.” 

“Yes, sir, I have. What will be Asura’s first work, con¬ 
cerning the World-Teacher’s coming?” 

“It will be rather difficult to find suitable future dis¬ 
seminators of Sura’s redeeming doctrine. They must possess 
three qualities—they must be fearless, strong against temp¬ 
tation and intuitive. Many dangers will threaten those 
who are to execute Sura’s great work. Superstitution, 
narrow-mindedness and fanaticism must be conquered; and 
history tells us how tenacious they are. Many of our faith¬ 
ful will pay with their lives for their uprightness; others 
will lose all their estate; they must be willing to sacrifice all 
in order to attain their goal. 

“One of Asura’s means will be to stir up the devouring 
fire of passion. Those who are to propagate the great doc¬ 
trine of love may not indulge in unclean sentiments; the 
transition from love divine to love profane is easy for a weak 
man. Sura can only use strong followers. 

“Intuition is the third attribute. Sura’s followers must 
be able to separate the real from the false. Asura is a great 
seducer. He is as beautiful as an angel and daring as a 
hero. Even many noble people will not be proof against his 
seductive ways. He comes now under the name of Emman¬ 
uel, which has a sacred sound and all his words will be filled 
with beautiful promises. His voice has an indescribable 
softness, able to move the hardest hearts. Many people will 
choose Emmanuel and reject Sura. Even your son, Mr. 
Bicker/’ 

“My son! Do you say my son?” cried Edward. 

“I do.” 


The World-Teacher and His Opposer 49 

“Do you mean John?” 

“No, your second son, Edward, the attorney. He will 
be your great opposer. Asura has rejected the orator, whom 
his dull followers had chosen to propagate his false doctrine, 
and you saw him going westward to Holland in order to 
fetch his new prey.” 

Edward suddenly arose and shouted: 

“Let us go back, Brother, to prevent this atrocity. A 
son opposing his father!” 

“No, Mr. Bicker,” said the Hindu in his quiet tone. 
“Sit down. That cannot be changed. 

“I say only this: When all is over, when Sura and 
Asura will have retired and your son recovers his senses, for¬ 
give him, because he is not guilty. He belongs to those who 
lack one of the required qualities, who are weak in one of 
the three essential points. Your son Edward is weak in the 
third point—intuition; and he will cause you much trouble, 
but he will also have contributed to the attainment of the 
great goal. His opposition will be scattered, as Asura’s will 
be. Asura’s forces of disintegration will be overthrown. 

“Asura gathers all bad things in the world, ripens them 
and offers them to be destroyed. Without being aware of 
it, your son will contribute to this work.” 

Both the Hindus retired and Edward was enabled to 
think over what he had heard. He felt downcast. His 
son, Edward, whom he had educated with so much care and 
who promised to make such a splendid career, was going to 
throw away these advantages, to oppose his father, to be 
Asura’s collaborator! Who was Asura? Was he Satan? 
Was he Ahriman of the Persians, Ravana of the Hindus, 
Eblis of the Mohammedans? 

Asura looked like an angel. 

Edward’s conception of the black forces in nature had 
now totally changed. They were necessary. 


50 


The Birth of Humanity 


He was glad to know this, because it destroyed his previ¬ 
ous doubts concerning God’s omnipotence and gave answer 
to the question why God had permitted the existence of the 
evil spirit. 

He could not sleep the following night, though complete 
silence reigned. He heard only the soft whirr of the screws 
pushing the ship ever toward the west with unchanging speed. 
The previous nights, he had been astonished on account of a 
light shining into his sleeping room, a mysterious, soft light, 
composed of all the glorious hues of the rainbow. Now he 
imagined he saw a grand figure standing near his bed; but 
it vanished in a moment. Was it an angel or some other 
denizen of higher regions, or only a dream-figure? 

He could not help thinking that his large aeroplane con¬ 
tained more passengers than those he knew—the Brother, the 
captain and the crew. 

Sometimes the thought came to him that Sura himself 
lived in an unknown part of the ship. 

Suddenly he heard a knocking at the door of his room 
and the captain’s voice saying: 

“Come out, Mr. Bicker and I will show you an interest¬ 
ing scene.” 

Going immediately into his living-room, our hero found 
the captain before the window, peering out into the darkness. 
At some distance Edward saw a great light, like a confla¬ 
gration. 

“Kilauea,” said the captain. 

Hawaii’s volcano was in full eruption; flames seemed to 
be belching forth into the air and lava streams to overflow 
the crater-brim,, while large stones were being vomited up¬ 
ward, like fiery bombs. At times the fire lulled for a few 
moments only to resume the utmost activity a moment later. 
It seemed as if a huge giant buried under the mountain 
breathed forth his fury in great gasps. 


The World-Teacher and His Opposer 51 

“I will show you the inside of the crater,” said the cap¬ 
tain, “but we will have to take the ship higher up to be out 
of reach of the stones.” 

He shouted a word of command and immediately the ship 
ascended and a moment later it floated directly above the 
crater. 

“Now, let us look through the window at the bottom of 
your room.” 

He turned a button and a large window at their feet 
opened. Our hero saw the heart of the crater where a sea 
of fire broke into fiery foam against the crater walls. The 
entire mountain trembled and rumbled, tossed by the inner 
forces of the earth, which seemed to rush unto the conflict, 
eager for freedom. 

The captain muttered: 

“Asura is powerless against us. As if we could be 
destroyed by an eruption!” 

Suddenly the aeroplane fell and Edward feared that it 
would be thrown into the burning pit. But it turned aside 
and landed safely on the island. 

“We have to pass the night here,” said the captain. 
“You may walk the whole morning on the island. We 
leave after two o’clock. Good night.” 

Edward was glad to walk about on the island of Hawaii, 
with its gigantic mountain, Mauna Kea, emerging from the 
plain like a sentinel of the gods. 

When next afternoon, the aeroplane passed Honolulu, all 
the natives rushed to the shore, leaving their beautiful gar¬ 
dens and loved surf-bathing, to look at the immense aero¬ 
plane coming from Diamond Head and crossing the island. 
But it soon disappeared to the northwest on its way to 
Japan. 


Chapter III 


EDWARD BICKER IS DECLARED NOT TO BE EDWARD BICKER 

As soon as the Hawaiian Islands had been lost to sight, 
Edward Bicker sat down on the deck of the aeroplane and 
looked out across the sea. The surface was still noticeably 
agitated, influenced no doubt by the events of the previous 
day, when Asura had passed by in a fury leaving a raging 
thunder-storm in his wake. There was not now a trace of 
wind, but the waves continued to behave as if frightened at 
an unseen foe. Somehow a feeling of joy possessed our 
hero. 

“Soon I will begin my great work,” he said to himself, 
“and announce the coming of the World-Teacher: Sura, the 
Divine, the discharger of a sacred task.” 

Now he understood so well what was meant by the 
words: The Birth of Humanity. During the last few days 
he had been meditating a great deal on this subject. For 
him to meditate was to discover things. 

“The human mind is a wondrous instrument,” he was 
wont to murmur. “Give the mind a difficult question to 
solve, and sooner or later it is solved. The mind is like a 
strong revolving drill: place its point on the thickest steel 
plate and it will ultimately be penetrated.” 

When Bicker encountered a difficult problem, he seldom 
asked the solution of another person or a book, but sat down 
and meditated a while on the subject, and when he had pur¬ 
sued this exercise for some days, light was thrown on the 
question from everywhere. When he did not succeed, he 
temporarily dropped the subject and took it up again some 
time later and nearly always arrived at a satisfactory solu¬ 
tion. 


Declared not to be Edward Bicker 


53 


He had been thinking a long time about the human race, 
divided into countless personalities each of whom was a little 
world of his own, without mingling with others more than 
was necessary to his own interests. Sometimes there was 
co-operation but only to reach a selfish goal. Apparently 
some unselfish movements were to be found in the world 
under the mask of religions and brotherhoods; but nearly 
always, the little demon of selfishness, called the salvation 
of one’s own soul, or vanity, peeped through the clouds on 
closer observation. 

All that must be changed; unity must take the place of 
sectarianism, sacrifice that of vanity, altruism that of ego¬ 
tism; not in the sense in which this theory had been pro¬ 
pounded for centuries, but as enlightened by Sura’s presence. 

Sura’s presence—there was the great difference. The 
things that the human race was unable to do without help, 
would be done by the powerful vibrations of a superhuman 
entity. 

All this still seemed very vague, but as soon as the work 
was really undertaken, all would be cleared up. 

The captain used to visit his passenger and talk with him 
about the voyage and the coming work. 

“Is there ever any danger to this ship?” was a question 
from Bicker. 

“There can be, Mr. Bicker, why not? Who knows the 
future? This aeroplane is made by human hands and 
‘human’ means are liable to error. Who knows what the 
elements may plot against us?” 

“But Sura himself travels by aeroplane. Is it possible 
that he could meet with an accident?” 

“Surely it is. Everybody, even a World-Teacher, is sub¬ 
ject to destiny, that mysterious power, whose decrees defy 
the knowledge of even the wisest beings. 

“You and I, and other thinkers know much more about 


54 


The Birth of Humanity 


the mysterious laws of fate, because we are convinced, and 
with reason, that eternal justice rules the universe, but Isis is 
not yet unveiled, though the veil is more transparent to us 
than to many others.” 

“But if Sura himself met with an accident, the great work 
would be checked.” 

“It would, Mr. Bicker. Did Christ not die a violent 
death? Who knows how the world would be this moment 
if he had stayed thirty years with us instead of three?” 

“Is Sura now far from here?” 

The captain smiled: “Sura is on this earth.” 

At this moment, the airship was tossed as if she were in 
the midst of a gale, though there was no wind at all. She 
pitched like a ship on the sea and quivered like an arrow. 

As the ship recovered its equilibrium the captain said with 
a smile: 

“You felt those tosses? I am the captain and I have 
passed the greater part of my life in the air, but I am abso¬ 
lutely ignorant of what it means. We are surrounded by 
unknown powers, Mr. Bicker.” 

A moment later, the aeroplane resumed its quiet course. 

“Can it be that Asura assailed our ship, captain?” 

“Asura is mighty.” 

The next day was again bright and sunny, and Bicker 
passed it reading and writing on deck. After supper, the 
moon appeared at the horizon, blood red, emerging from the 
sea. But soon she cleared herself of her scarlet veil and 
started her triumphant course through the stars. 

Edward was full of courage; a great work stood before 
him: to announce the coming of Sura, the World-Teacher; 
to straighten Suras path; to remove difficulties as much as 
possible, to intercept the blows, aimed at his august head, 
in order that his sojourn on earth might be of a joyous and 
useful nature. 


Declared not to be Edward Bicker 55 

Great dangers threatened Edward’s own head; perhaps 
even his life would be claimed, his life, which, in his own 
opinion, belonged more to his family than to himself. But 
his destiny was now attached to that of the World-Teacher 
more than to his wife and his children. 

The World-Religion Society, organized by him six years 
earlier, would be of great assistance to him. The Hindu 
had said: 

“Your society will be the foundation of Sura’s work, Mr. 
Bicker. It is a world-wide organization, which will prepare 
the way for all your lectures.” 

Bicker knew that the society had been prosperous during 
all these years. The seeds sown at Amsterdam, three years 
before, had grown into a forest. His proposition had been 
accepted everywhere with rejoicing and enthusiasm by people 
of every creed and color; and tokens of accord still arrived 
from the most remote parts of the world. Everywhere, the 
religions were now studied in the light of one to another; 
a sort of “science of the world-religions” was on the high 
road of realization and all endeavors in this direction were 
received with enthusiasm. 

The aeroplane, pushed by a light breeze from behind, 
ran so noiselessly that the chanting of the waves reached 
Edward’s ears. The moon traced a silver path on the sea, 
reaching to the horizon; so smooth was the surface of the 
ocean that it reflected the graceful constellations of the stars; 
the greater Bear walked on the water and Cassiopea seemed 
the door of Walhalla. 

Where was our hero going? He did not know himself; 
the Hindu had said: 

“We are going to Japan.” 

But Japan was a country with many cities. At the time 
of his last visit to Japan, his society there was spreading 
rapidly, as well among the Buddhists as among the Shinto- 


56 


The Birth of Humanity 


ists. At Tokio, the capital, there had even been quite a rush 
to the society, composed of Japanese as well as of white peo¬ 
ple. Even many Japanese women had shown independence 
enough to join it. In other parts of the country, the dispo¬ 
sition towards the society was cordial, and Edward consid¬ 
ered Japan one of the principal countries from where Sura’s 
light would shine. 

He recalled the wondrous beauty of the landscape, the 
graceful vegetation, the majesty of the mountains. He hoped 
to be able to live sometime among those surroundings and 
enjoy the loveliness of that wondrous country. A beloved 
land is increasingly beloved when one sees it again. 

Next day at noon, the captain appeared on Edward’s 
deck, saying: 

“Land!” 

“Where?” asked Bicker, who did not see any land. 

The captain stretched his hand to the left and faint out¬ 
lines were to be seen through the mist at the horizon. 

“Fujiyama, Mr. Bicker, the highest and most sacred 
of Japan’s mountains.” 

“I know it, sir. I even ascended the mountain, two 
years ago. But now it seems covered with snow.” 

“It is, because the spring has been very cold this year.” 

The more the airship neared Japan, the higher the moun¬ 
tain seemed to grow and the whiter the top became. Soon 
it glowed in the glorious sunshine, like a pillar of light. The 
captain shouted a word and the aeroplane turned to the left 
and approached the splendid mountain. She circled around 
Fuji to afford our hero a view of its immense proportions 
and the emerald lakes, limiting it on the north. The ship 
lingered a long time above the extinct crater whose bottom 
descended into a violet darkness. Half an hour later the 
great ship was flying above the graceful Hakone Lake, above 
Miyanoshita with its splendid hotels and its smoky moun- 


Declared not to be Edward Bicker 


57 


tain. She then proceeded to Kamakura. The beautiful 
island of Enoshima, attached to the mainland by a tiny 
bridge, was seen with its slender pine trees and minuscule 
houses. Not far from there, our hero saw the famous Dai- 
butsu, an immense bronze statue of Buddha; the spiritual 
hero sits there in his sacred quietness, surrounded by trees 
and flowers like a divine bridegroom, awaiting his ethereal 
bride. 

Soon the aeroplane reached Yokohama, and some mo¬ 
ments later it landed near Tokyo, the capital of Japan. 

The door of Bicker’s apartment was thrown open and 
our hero descended on Japanese soil. A double door opened 
in the middle of the ship and a large automobile came out. 
Edward was invited to step into the vehicle, which was to 
take him to his hotel. The captain came to shake hands with 
him. 

“Good-bye, Mr. Bicker. This automobile is yours dur¬ 
ing a part of your trip in Japan. Here is the schedule for 
your lecturing tour.” 

When the automobile started, the captain added: 

“Be of good cheer. All’s well that ends well.” 

Edward mused some moments over these last words. 
Was there some danger for him in Japan? This was hardly 
to be expected; the World-Religion Society, so strongly es¬ 
tablished in the country, would prevent all difficulties. 

The captain had said that during Edward’s sojourn away 
from the ship, his trip would be arranged by the chauffeur. 
Our hero soon discovered that this man, as well as the cap¬ 
tain, was a philosopher, skilled in all wisdom. Wffiile he 
was driving in Tokyo’s streets, the chauffeur talked of re¬ 
ligion and philosophy; he spoke with predilection of the 
Christian doctrine, which he understood better than most 
Christians. 

“Christ is my example,” said the man in a reverent voice. 


58 


The Birth of Humanity 


“His wisdom is so profound! I am a Hindu, Mr. Bicker, 
educated in the study of the Vedas and Upanishads, but as 
soon as the Bible came into my hands (I was a boy at that 
time) the book was a revelation to me and since that mo¬ 
ment I have been, at the same time, a Christian and a Brah- 
min. 

When Edward reached his hotel, he found there three 
members of the World-Religion Society, awaiting him; two 
Japanese and one American. 

They welcomed the founder of the Society cordially; 
but Bicker soon sensed that something disagreeable had oc¬ 
curred. Following some questioning, the situation was ex¬ 
plained to him. 

Some weeks before, Japan had been visited by a young man 
called Emmanuel, a brilliant speaker of a conquering type, 
whose words spoken in the very circles of the World-Religion 
Society, had had an immense influence on most of the mem¬ 
bers. He had opposed Bicker’s doctrine of unity, pretending 
that nature was founded on diversity and that an unnatural 
idea could not stand. “The circles of the society were much 
too large,” he had said. “How could any good work be ex¬ 
pected in meetings where hundreds of members were jos¬ 
tling together?” He said it would be much better to divide 
the circle into smaller ones; a few friends could study and 
discuss the subjects much easier than hundreds. Decentrali¬ 
zation was much better than centralization and, if the mem¬ 
bers could agree with this idea, he himself would lead the 
process before he left and show how the small circles should 
be organized. 

Emmanuel’s success had been very important and even 
his proposal to organize a new society had been favorably 
voted on. 

During the following days, Emmanuel had arranged the 
circles and now another society called the “Religious Society” 


Declared not to be Edward Bicker 


59 


had grown out of the original, and it had assumed a hostile 
attitude toward the “World-Religion Society.” 

Edward listened to the long explanation with an op¬ 
pressed heart. He felt all his hopes dwindle. What was he 
to do now? How could he speak under these circumstances? 
His words might do more harm than good. 

“But how is it possible,” said he, “that one man was 
able to overthrow, in a few days, the work of many years, 
patiently done by thousands?” 

“Did you ever hear Emmanuel, Mr. Bicker?” 

“Never.” 

“Then you cannot judge. A powerful charm goes out 
from that man. He is a real magician. I never saw so hand¬ 
some a man, and his voice is like music, his gestures are 
matchless.” 

“You mean that he is an accomplished actor?” 

“I think he is, but he conceals the artifice under a veil 
of perfect beauty. You do not know how beautiful he is.” 

“But some members discovered the artifice, I presume?” 

“Some of us did; we, for instance, immediately felt—I 
don’t know just how—that we were misguided. Emmanuel 
sometimes used cruel expressions, his smiles hid a hostile 
mind and his whole person wore an attitude of untruth— 
at least in my eyes and in those of many other members.” 

Then Edward recalled the words of the Hindu: “The 
propagators of Sura’s doctrine want three qualities: they 
must be fearless, proof against temptation and intuitive.” 

“Intuitive!” 

The members who left the society to organize another, 
lacked the intuitive sense, which enables one to disentangle 
the truth from the untruth. 

“We have arranged a lecture for you, tonight, Mr. 
Bicker,” said one of Edward’s visitors. 

“But is it now possible, sir?” 


60 


The Birth of Humanity 


“It is, but I fear that some of your enemies will be pres¬ 
ent.” 

“Then I have enemies, now?” 

“You have, sir; all the members of the new society; 
Emmanuel’s followers.” 

“And you advise me to give a lecture under such condi¬ 
tions?” 

“We do. We have been ordered by you to rent a hall 
for this night. Here is the wireless.” 

A telegram was produced, sent from the aeroplane, which 
ordered the lecture. It was signed “Edward Bicker.” 

“Edward Bicker!” 

And he did not even know it! 

But he had learned to obey and not to wonder. His life, 
for many years, was like a dream. He was employed in a 
great enterprise; this was certain, but the new aspect of 
things made him uneasy. Had he still to trust the chauffeur; 
the captain, even the Hindu Brother, all of whom were 
learned and wise? 

But he felt calm and serene. All those who surrounded 
him, to lead him and judge him, were mysterious people— 
his whole life, since he left home, had been a mystery. He 
let himself go and did what he was told. 

At the appointed hour, his automobile stood before the 
entrance, and presently he entered the hall where he was to 
speak. It was crowded and noisy. Our hero had never met 
such a mixed audience; it comprised as many Japanese as 
white men. 

Edward was welcomed with cheers, as an old friend, 
whom the auditors were glad to meet again; but not all ap¬ 
plauded. Bicker noticed whole rows of people who did not 
move, and who frowned at him. They sat close together, 
forming groups of ill-disposed hearers. 

The chairman opened the meeting with a warm word of 


Declared not to be Edward Bicker 61 

welcome to “Our beloved orator, the organizer of the fam¬ 
ous World-Religion Society, spread all over the world as a 
benefit to mankind.” 

A tall, bearded European rose from his seat and said: 

“Mr. Chairman, you have welcomed Mr. Edward 
Bicker, but I fear that he has no right to bear this name.” 

“Not the right?” asked the chairman. 

“No, sir. Mr. Edward Bicker is still in Europe.” 

There was much astonishment in the room, but the most 
astonished of all was Edward Bicker himself. 

All the people in the hall were now talking together, fill¬ 
ing the air with noise pregnant with threats. Many men 
stood upright with clenched fists, women laughed loudly and 
children cried. 

The chairman asked for silence. 

“How is it possible, sir, to be in doubt about our friend’s 
identity. Many of us have known him for several years. 
He has been here twice on a lecture tour. How can you 
pretend that he is another man?” 

“He is, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Emmanuel is this very 
moment in Europe to fetch Mr. Edward Bicker. He told 
me so and promised to bring the great orator here.” 

Edward could not at first utter a word so astonished 
was he to hear that he was not himself; but he understood 
the meaning of the mysterious attack as soon as Emmanuel’s 
name was mentioned. The Hindu had told him that his son 
Edward was to side with Asura’s party. Emmanuel had 
probably used the similitude of names to harm his enemy. 

“I can explain the mystery,” said he loudly. 

And suddenly the assembly remained silent. 

“I have a son bearing my name: Edward Bicker, who 
will be one of Emmanuel’s followers.” 

“Don’t believe him,” shouted the bearded man. “A son 
can never be his father’s enemy.” 


62 


The Birth of Humanity 


“He will not be my enemy,” said Bicker in a low tone. 
“Why should he not be my friend?” 

“Because the great Emmanuel is your enemy.” 

“A Christian has no enemies,” said Edward, shrugging 
his shoulders. “ ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself.’ ” 

The bearded man did not know what to answer and the 
chairman said: 

“Let us drop the question and listen to what Mr. Ed¬ 
ward Bicker has to say to us.” 

And our hero was at last able to speak. 

He described Sura, the World-Teacher, who had come 
to bring to the human race his sacred message of wisdom 
and reconstruction of the world. Sura was not the founder 
of a new religion but the man who was going to revive the 
existing religions and bring them together in a great religious 
brotherhood, wherein no enmity nor rivalry could exist. All 
religions were degenerated, their doctrines misrepresented 
and Sura was here to restore them in their original splen¬ 
dor. 

He spoke of the Christian and the Buddhistic religions, 
whose followers filled the room, mentioning many misunder¬ 
stood and mistranslated passages, which gave birth to con¬ 
ceptions diametrically contrary to the original doctrine. In 
many cases the modern ideas were but caricatures of the 
original. 

But Sura was going to do much more than that; he 
would change human nature by his mere presence. He would 
“change our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned into his 
glorious body” as the Bible says. Sura’s followers would be¬ 
come more and more like that glorious being; he would give 
life to latent powers in the human mind of a far reaching 
consequence to the race. At Sura’s departure a great number 
of people would possess a light, illumining their souls, and be 
able to kindle that same precious fire in their fellowmen. 


Declared not to be Edward Bicker 63 

Edward sensed that his auditors listened to his words 
with rejoicing and interest; even those, who earlier in the 
meeting had shown a hostile mind, listened with an un¬ 
faltering attention. Only the bearded man still seemed un¬ 
convinced, shaking his head, whispering remarks into the 
ears of his neighbors. Sometimes a noise arose in the rear 
of the hall, but it was soon suppressed. 

Edward was now speaking of faith. A world-teacher 
could only succeed with those who had faith in his words. 
Most people believe only when they witness signs, miracles 
as they call them, as if miracles could really exist. The man 
who does miracles uses natural forces, but forces not yet gen¬ 
erally known, working against nature is not possible. 

Better not believe than believe merely by witnessing mir¬ 
acles. Sura required only belief in his words. He collected 
those who had faith in the sacredness of his mission; they 
would be his future collaborators, men and women able to 
mold and reshape the human race. The only difficulty would 
be to convince the people of the reality of Sura’s doctrine; 
only those could be used who were willing to sacrifice their 
own interests to the welfare of the race. 

After the close of his address, some questions were asked 
of him: 

“What will be Sura’s doctrine?” 

“Only Sura himself knows it. I presume that he will 
give us some new truths.” 

“Do you know Sura?” 

“I never saw him.” 

“Then you have no right to speak,” shouted the bearded 
man. “I know the world teacher, Emmanuel.” 

“No, sir, Emmanuel is the great opposer of the World- 
Teacher, the opposer of all that is noble, pure and good.” 

The bearded man cried: 

“He is an angel of beauty and goodness.” 


64 


The Birth of Humanity 


“The Lord be with him; he is very unhappy,” said our 
hero. 

“He is the happiest of all, because his cause is just.” 

“Wait until Sura himself comes, then you will be con¬ 
vinced of Emmanuel’s falsity. Listen to Sura’s words.” 

“Never, because he is an impostor.” 

A part of the audience supported the bearded man, who 
seemed to be the leader of the opposition. Another part 
showed its indignation by choosing Edward’s party. 

Bicker whispered with the chairman, not knowing what 
to do and how to end a quarrel which could never come to 
any satisfactory conclusion. 

Then he proposed that those who could not agree with 
the idea that Sura was the expected World-Teacher should 
leave the room. But they refused. 

Some days later, Edward made his second address and 
met with much more success. The opposition was much 
weaker and the bearded man was absent. 

Our hero explained how Sura would strike a new note 
upon a fresh cord of spiritual life. He was the mediator 
and would bring the perfect understanding of God nearer 
to the children of man. 

Edward explained how the great Sura would improve the 
senses of true discernment in man, how he would make them 
more devotional, more philosophical, more brotherly and 
how, in these wonderful ways, he would further the growth 
of the divine seeds in human breasts. 

He would stand as the Great High Priest of the human 
race and his work on the earth would be considered as one 
of the most important mile-stones in the path of man’s prog¬ 
ress. 

Many auditors seemed under the spell of these new ideas. 
At the close of his address only questions of real interest 
were asked, questions which our hero answered joyfully. 


Declared not to be Edward Bicker 65 

“Can you not give us a clearer idea of what Sura really 
is?” was asked. 

Edward meditated a moment over the question, ask¬ 
ing himself what part of his knowledge he was allowed 
to impart to an audience so unknown to him. But he felt 
confidence in those who seemed so serious and so eager to 
know. 

“There is a great spiritual being who directs the evolu¬ 
tion of the world, a Supreme Teacher, the leader of all 
World-Religions. As long as he is in the world, he is the 
light of the world. Because he is so near to God, he 
possesses God’s wisdom and will impart it to us, as far as 
we understand it. He is Beauty, Love and Bliss.” 

Edward visited a part of Japan by automobile, deliver¬ 
ing addresses at several towns and villages. At Yokohama, 
the opposition was very strong, Emmanuel having been there 
a short time before. The same bearded man led this faction 
and at first had great success. But as soon as our hero had 
spoken in his own persuasive way, the opposition dwindled 
and the hearts flowed to him. At his second lecture, the 
bearded man was absent again and the opposition was defi¬ 
nitely broken. 

Our hero had a wonderful night at Kamakura, the an¬ 
cient capital of Eastern Japan, long years before the Shoguns 
ruled the country. Because the weather was so splendid, 
he chose to speak in the open air at the feet of the Daibutsu 
illuminated for the occasion with electric lights, throwing 
their blending beams on this wonderful product of man’s 
constructive craft which sparkled from the crest of the head 
to the floor where he sat. The expression of the Japanese 
face of the Hindu moralist was splendid, and one could 
imagine him muttering prayers and their ascending to the 
Creator of the Universe. The lower part of the great statue 
disappeared beneath a profusion of flowers, provided by the 


66 


The Birth of Humanity 


natives and a delightful fragrancy encircled the place, where 
the orator was going to speak of a new world-teacher, at the 
feet of one of his predecessors. 

Bicker spoke a long time of the coming event, explaining 
why Sura had left the higher realms of joy and happiness to 
be incarnated in the flesh and to fight against superstition 
and ignorance, against separateness and hate, and to bring 
all humans together in one brotherhood. 

His task was a difficult one because many natural forces 
opposed Sura’s mission. From all parts of the universe, they 
arrived to resist the Light-B ringer, the celestial messenger, 
whose life was purity and whose heart was love. 

The Light-Bringer was accompanied by the Great Op- 
poser, who had now taken form in the body of Emmanuel 
and whose doctrine was abominable. 

These words had hardly escaped from the orator’s lips 
when a commotion arose in the crowd. 

“Bicker is a liar! He blasphemes the great Emmanuel! 
Bicker is an impostor! Emmanuel is the Light-Bringer! 
The name ‘Emmanuel’ is even quoted in the Bible!” 

Bicker protested: 

“Anyone can assume the holy name of Emmanuel. Are 
not many people called Michael and Gabriel, names of Arch¬ 
angels? In olden times many people were called Jesus. In 
Spain, Portugal and Italy the name of Emmanuel is very 
popular. I maintain that Emmanuel, of whom we are speak¬ 
ing, is an impostor. Whosoever follows him goes to perdi¬ 
tion, because he supports Sura’s opposer, who must be de¬ 
feated.” 

“Who is Sura?” exclaimed a harsh voice. “Who has 
ever heard that stupid name?” 

“He is the Mediator between man and God. The 
human race has reached a point, where it can be guided 
nearer to the Creator. Many centuries have passed since 


Declared not to be Edward Bicker 


67 


the last previous descent of light directly illumined the 
world. The race has progressed greatly and evolved its 
mind and morality.” 

A new noise arose in the audience, and protests were 
again heard. 

“And what do you say of the wars and the crimes that 
are committed in all countries of the world?” 

Edward tossed his head, and said: 

“I do not underestimate these things, but the social con¬ 
ditions of today cannot be compared to those of two thousand 
years ago. In those days, warfare was considered praise¬ 
worthy, and the killing of human beings as an honor. Now, 
we consider war a sad condition, degrading the race. Orgies 
and immoral lives were considered privileges and rights of 
the higher classes, but now they are scandals among all 
classes.” 

“Come, my friends,” said the head of the opposition, 
“let us leave this place, where the truth finds itself in such 
a bad atmosphere.” 

They left with ostentation and the remaining auditors 
maintained a silence for some moments. Buddha’s lofty 
figure, immense like a God’s, towering above all weak¬ 
nesses, smiled down on his beloved children. 

Edward resumed his speech. 

Sura’s advent was now at hand, he would bring all 
things mysteriously together. To him, all noble aspirations 
of the human mind were going to soar like birds to the 
light. He was the High Priest who offers humanity to God. 

His task was tremendous: to bear on his powerful shoul¬ 
ders all of the iniquities of the race, accumulated by Emman¬ 
uel, to be offered to God for destruction. He was the Lord 
of Love and Compassion, the Path-Maker, the Architect of 
Humanity. 

Next day Edward had to speak at Odawara, a seaport, 


68 


The Birth of Humanity 


famous in history. Not far from this town, the chauffeur 
stopped in front of a small building saying: 

“Here you can talk for two hours with your family.” 

“With my family?” 

“You can. The Brother ordered a wireless telephone 
to be installed here and Mrs. Bicker and your children are 
here to welcome you.” 

When Edward entered the building, he saw Ann’s lovely 
face on the screen. 

“Good day, my dear Ann,” said Bicker deeply moved. 
“How glad I am to see your dear face and to hear your be¬ 
loved voice. Many weeks have passed, since I left Califor¬ 
nia, where I last had the joy of conversing with you.” 

“And you go on with your useful work, my dear Ed¬ 
ward? I read your name many times in the papers. I am 
at once sad that you are not here and so glad that you are 
far away. Sura’s coming is now near at hand.” 

“He has arrived Ann, but I may not see him before his 
work is finished.” 

Each time Edward spoke of the children, he saw tears in 
his wife’s eyes. She hesitated before breaking a distressing 
bit of news to the father, but she felt compelled to do so. 
She told him that their second son Edward had left his fam¬ 
ily forever. Some days before, she, Edward and the girls had 
assisted at a performance led by a mysterious man, calling 
himself Emmanuel. All were under the impression created 
in their minds by what they had seen and heard. They had 
never encountered so perfect a performance; but Edward 
had suddenly changed. He had been invited by Emmanuel 
to pay him a visit, and since that day the young man was 
another being; taciturn and ill-humored, refusing to answer 
questions. Two days before, he had entered his mother’s 
room and shortly taken leave, saying: 


Declared not to be Edward Bicker 


69 


“Good-bye, mother. You will never see me again. I 
follow Emmanuel, forever.” 

And he had hastened away without taking formal leave 
of his brothers and sisters. 

At this moment, the chauffeur hurried in, saying that 
the lecture trip had been altered and that Edward must im¬ 
mediately embark. He stepped in the automobile, reached 
his airship in fifteen minutes and almost before he had set 
foot upon the deck, he saw Japan’s fertile meadows like 
green spots falling away beneath him. 

Some minutes later the aeroplane traversed Tokyo. The 
captain showed our hero the principal places of interest; 
the O Shiro Palace, former residence of the Shoguns, the 
Ueno-Park with its lake, the Asakusa Kwannon Temple, 
the Shiba-Park with its marvelous Kryptomeria trees and its 
six buddhistic Shiba-Temples, the most exquisite specimens 
of Japanese art; and the last resting place of six Tokugawa 
Shoguns. 

The aeroplane went straight to the north and passed the 
mountains to descend slowly into the fields. The ship sailed 
as near as possible to the land in order to give Edward an 
opportunity to admire the beautiful land of the Rising Sun. 

“I will show you the beautiful lakes and cascades near 
Nikko,” said the captain. 

The ship stopped at the splendid cascade Kegon-no-Taki 
which throws itself from the Lake Chuzenji into the depth 
and the sonorous voice of which reached our hero’s ears. 
Some moments later, the aeroplane skimmed over the sur¬ 
face of the lake so near that it traced a furrow on the water 
and Edward could admire the garlands of blossoming trees 
surrounding the lake: azaleas in all colors flowering so late 
in the season on account of their high elevation above the 
sea level. 


70 The Birth of Humanity 

The air machine then left the lake, going to the north. 
Bicker imagined seeing a glacier in the distance, but soon 
it revealed itself as a cascade of hot water: Yu-no-Taki, flow¬ 
ing down a slope, garlanded with flowers. 

Behind the cataract, the small but beautiful Lake of 
Yumoto smiled under a veritable shower of sunbeams, 
which illumined the numerous hot springs supplying the 
lake with fresh water. 

But the airship was soon high in the sky again, proceeding 
to Nikko, the temple town, where Edward was to deliver 
several addresses. 

He lived his days in the cryptomeria-woods shading the 
holy places, where the Japanese worship God in the most 
beautiful temples. He went up to the tombs of the Sho¬ 
guns Ieyasu and Iemitsu, hidden in the woods like squirrels: 
the tombs of the most famous of the famous Tokugawa 
family, whose name was attached to a system of politics, 
that had not harmonized with progress. 

His aeroplane brought him northward to Hakodate on 
the isle of Yesso. But before reaching this place it stayed 
a long time above Matsushima, one of the three “Sankei,” 
or most famous places of Japan; a marvelous archipelago, 
the numberless green islets of which have assumed the most 
incredible forms, like a set of giant toys scattered upon the 
surface of the ocean. The captain showed them from all 
sides to his passenger, then he threw his ship suddenly into 
the air on his way to the land of the Ainos. 

Our hero lived some days in the heart of this hairy 
pigmy-tribe whose members were unvisited by Asura, and 
very amenable to Bicker’s holy announcements. When our 
hero left the island, he carried with him the blessings of all 
the inhabitants. 


Chapter IV 


THE PERFORMANCE 

A fleet of aeroplanes dotted a part of the Japanese sky, 
like a flock of super-natural birds. The Japanese, though 
long since accustomed to the sight of big air machines, had 
never seen such a crowd of imposing airships. For a mo¬ 
ment, they had feared a charge of some unfriendly nation; 
the peoples of the earth had for some years been torn into 
pieces by wars and revolutions and, in the depth of all 
hearts, there still trembled a suppressed anguish that needed 
only a slight incentive to break out in cries of despair. 

But the fleet of huge aeroplanes proved envoys of peace; 
each ship raised a white flag as soon as she neared the Jap¬ 
anese shore and sometimes a rain of flowers was thrown upon 
the country. 

On the deck of the largest aeroplane two young men 
were seated. The one, dressed in ample green robes, was 
an ideal figure; nature seemed to have bestowed all the 
beauty she had at her command upon the splendid beardless 
face, encircled by thick curly hair and upon the harmonious 
structure of the body. The reader knows him by the name 
of Asura or Emmanuel. 

The other young man about twenty-two years old was 
seated at some distance from Asura as if he dreaded to ap¬ 
proach him. In his eyes glowed an expression of worship, 
like that of a fervent Christian, lost in adoration of Christ. 
He seemed afraid to speak to Asura if not invited to do so. 

Asura wished for more intimacy between himself and 
his young friend. At this moment, it was not his wish to 
be adored like an idol. 



72 


The Birth of Humanity 


“Don’t look at me in that way, my dear Bicker,” said 
he in a kind tone. “I am neither a god nor an angel; con¬ 
sider me as an ordinary man; we are friends. I am not 
your master. You are absolutely free; if you wish to go 
home, I will take you there in a few days.” 

“Oh, no, sir!” 

“I asked you, Edward, not to call me ‘Sir’ any longer. 
Call me ‘Emmanuel,’ that is my name.” 

“I will try, sir.” 

“Again!” 

“I will try, Emmanuel.” 

“And I should like you to speak to me as to a friend. 
Am I not your friend?” 

“My only friend, sir—Emmanuel.” 

“But you never speak to me unless I speak to you; I am 
neither a king nor an emperor. I am an ordinary man, 
charged with a sacred mission: to safeguard humanity from 
the greatest calamity imaginable, from falling into the 
traps of an impostor. 

“You say nothing, Edward?” smiled Asura. 

“The impostor is called Sura. From whence did he 
come, sir, and what is his work?” 

“I don’t know from whence he came; from some distant 
country, I suppose. He perverts humanity by a false doc¬ 
trine, a doctrine of so-called unity and brotherly love, that 
cannot live in the impostor’s false heart.” 

“He must be a bad man.” 

“He is. Now stand up, Edward, and look at the land¬ 
scape. You will see with me all countries of the world and 
in a very comfortable way.” 

“And you demand nothing from me, Emmanuel?” 

“I do, Edward. I claim your help and your eloquence.” 

“They are at your service, sir.” 


The Performance 73 

“Look, there is the Fujiyama, an object of superstition 
to the Japanese, as you know.” 

Asura took young Edward’s arm, leaning on the rail. 
He showed his friend a city with many temples and large 
buildings, Nagoya, a famous industrial town. The aero¬ 
plane flew for some moments above the old Daimyo Castle, 
surrounded by its cyclopean walls and crowned with two 
golden dolphins which, surrounded as they were by sparkling 
sunlight, seemed to swim in the air. 

The ship traversed the Owari Bay and soon reached 
Yamada, the Mecca of the Japanese. 

“Japan’s madhouse,” said Asura, grinning. 

For the whole day, the aeroplane flew above Japan’s 
fertile islands. Osaka and Kobe, two important harbors, 
were traversed by our friends, and young Edward admired 
the Inland Sea, surrounded by beautiful mountains and 
green islets, towns and villages, temples and Daimyo-castles, 
while the surface of the water was covered with small boats, 
so numerous that they sometimes formed bridges from the 
one shore to the other, blocking up the passage for steamers. 

The door of the airship opened and the two young men 
went down into a large boat which brought them to the 
island of Miyajima, one of the three “Sankei,” where they 
were to pass the night. 

They lingered a long time in the wooden temple, built 
on the water and preceded by a large “Torn” emerging 
from the sea like the gate of heaven. 

“A bad place,” said Asura with a grin. “An atmosphere 
of narrowness and superstition occupies this beautiful 
building.” 

They passed the night in the boat where a comfortable 
home had been arranged for them and next morning they 
climbed the mountain to admire the sunrise. The whole 
landscape was covered with a light fog, wrapping the sur- 


74 


The Birth of Humanity 


roundings in a transparent veil, but as soon as the sun became 
visible the mist disappeared as if inspired by some mighty 
being; steamy currents still circulated through the trunks 
and branches, but they were soon dissolved into the blue 
sky. And Japan’s most beautiful country unveiled itself to 
the eyes of Edward, junior, Asura did not even look at it. 

The temple with its mighty wooden entrance door 
seemed to float on the emerald waves of the sea, and Japan’s 
flowery luxury wafted its fragrance to Bicker’s nostrils. 

When the two men reached the shore, they were saluted 
by the rowers by the uplifting of their paddles, and Asura 
embarked with his friend. Edward noticed that the sailors 
were of different nationalities; all were young men and 
wore a sad, downcast expression. 

The huge airship approached like an antediluvian bird 
of prey, heavy chains were lowered and attached to the boat, 
which was hauled up in a moment. 

When Asura sat down on the deck with his friend, the 
Inland Sea had already disappeared and the airship had 
turned her prow to the northwest. 

When Edward was seated on the deck with his powerful 
friend, he said: 

“May I ask you a question?” 

Asura’s face lighted with a smile. 

“You never have to ask permission, my dear Edward; 
don’t forget that we are friends.” 

“Let me ask then in what way you expect me to fulfil 
your wishes.” 

Asura mused a moment. 

“By opposing Sura and his clan. You are a splendid 
orator, Edward, and you can assist me in the fulfillment of 
my heavy task: prevent the ruin of humanity.” 

“I will, but how with my father?” 

“You will oppose your father, of course.” 


The Performance 


75 


“My father! My dear father?” 

“Yes, Edward.” 

“The noblest man living on earth!” 

“He is, Edward. I appreciate his good qualities as much 
as you do, he is the noblest man living on earth. But he 
is on the wrong path. As soon as Sura is vanquished, your 
father’s eyes will be opened and his heart will reopen 
to you.” 

“His heart was never closed to any human being.” 

“No. But it is also open to Sura, the impostor.” 

Edward’s eyes were full of tears and a cunning smile 
twisted Asura’s features. 

“And—and how must I oppose my dear father, sir?” 

“All means are good, Edward, to open his eyes. After¬ 
wards, he will be grateful to you.” 

Edward was not yet convinced, and for the first time 
since he had met Asura, doubt crept into his heart, and he 
wondered if Emmanuel really was the ideal being he had 
fancied him. 

Both were silent, their eyes fixed on Japan’s beautiful 
islands passing beneath with almost inconceivable rapidity. 
Soon Nagasaki appeared and Asura, desirous of leading 
Edward’s thoughts to other subjects, ordered the airship 
to land. The friends walked a long time in the narrow 
streets of the town and visited the O-Suwa Temple with 
its numerous “Torii” and interesting bronze horse. 

Asura took Edward’s arm and said: 

“You are angry with me, my dear Edward, because I 
advised you to oppose your father, but if a man would save 
humanity, he must sacrifice himself to that noble object 
with body and soul. His whole life must be an eternal 
sacrifice. Think of the Christ who expected us to hate our 
father and mother and our whole family, if necessary, in 
order that we might follow Him.” 


76 


The Birth of Humanity 


“Did He?” 

“In Luke’s gospel is written: ‘If a man come to me, 
and hate not his father, and mother, and wife and children 
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he 
cannot be my disciple.’ ” 

“Then I must hate my father?” 

“That will be advisable. At least for some years, 
Edward, till Sura’s departure.” 

“But I cannot hate my dear father,” said Edward, burst¬ 
ing into tears. “I cannot! I cannot!” 

“Then I advise you to go home and abandon the sacred 
task you took upon your shoulders; and I will have to find 
another, more courageous man, one, on whom God’s hand 
truly rests.” 

Speaking those words Asura’s face assumed so noble 
and grand an expression that Edward bowed to his knees 
and shouted, trying to restrain his sobs: 

“No, no, sir; I will obey. I will try to hate my dear 
father.” 

Asura looked down on the boy prostrated at his feet, 
with an expression of disgust on his face, muttering: 

“Coward!” 

A moment later, in his heart, he wished to trample the 
young man who behaved like a slave, kneeling before the 
Spirit of Evil instead of fighting him, like his courageous 
father did. 

He laid his hand on the boy’s head. 

“Stand up, Edward,” said he with a voice so sweet that a 
bird in a neighboring tree started singing. “Stand up; 
your task is a noble though difficult one. Your heart will 
often bleed like mine; but eternal bliss will be your reward.” 

“Thank you, thank you, dear sir,” said Edward, drying 
his eyes. 


The Performance 77 

But some moments later he again fell on his knees, 
pleading in imploring tones: 

“I beseech you, noble Emmanuel, don’t deceive me, 
don’t deceive me. I feel so weak in your presence; like 
a child before his angry father—but don’t deceive me. And 
he added with a sob: “And have mercy on my dear father.” 

“I desire only your father’s welfare, Edward.” 

And both walked to the waiting aeroplane. 

Asura contrived to make the voyage interesting to his 
guest, showing him the country, landing as many times as 
Edward wished. 

They stood a long time arm in arm near Ama-no- 
Hashidate, another “Sankei,” the wondrous place, where 
a long neck of land, planted with the most exquisite pine- 
trees, extends into the most beautiful of bays. At Nara 
they walked under the trees of the park, and were followed 
by deer and squirrels; they admired the numerous temples 
hidden in the vegetation like nests of supernatural birds, 
and pulled the rope of the immense bell, producing a sound 
that filled the whole city with its sonorous vibrations. 

Asura ordered his airship to be lowered onto the Lake 
of Toba, where he and his guest embarked in their boat, 
which brought them to Kyoto, following the famous canal, 
where the tumultuous waters pass through three lighted 
grottoes and disappear, near the town, into a great hole in 
the earth. 

Edward, junior, was going to make his first address in 
Japan’s ancient capital, under the auspices of Asura himself. 

The room was crowded and he met with great success. 
He spoke of Sura’s advent as one of the greatest calamities 
that had ever threatened mankind. Sura was sent by the 
Spirit of Darkness to mislead humanity and ruin the earth. 

The young man had never felt so strange as that night. 


78 


The Birth of Humanity 


It seemed to him that another man was speaking through 
his mouth, and he could only remember a part of his address. 
The papers said that he had used strong expressions which 
it had been his habit to carefully shun, and which, as far as 
he knew, he had not spoken at all. He no more felt himself 
the Edward Bicker of old, the loving son of his noble par¬ 
ents, but another being, perhaps stronger and more powerful, 
but less good. 

Asura and Edward visited the principal curiosities of 
Kyoto; above all, the huge temple Higashi-Hongwanji, the 
largest in Japan, the roof of which rests on ninety-six huge 
masts, all decorated with the most exquisite taste. They 
rested a long time at the Golden Pavilion, looking at the 
lakes and the graceful vegetation and walked in the empty 
rooms of the beautiful imperial palace. They wondered why 
the Mikado had left this interesting capital of old for Tokyo, 
which was less interesting but much larger and richer. 

Next day, the whole fleet of airships left Japan, Asura’s 
aeroplane leading the way. 

Asura passed his days on the deck with his young victim, 
who soon felt more comfortable in the presence of his 
friend. Edward had ceased to call Asura “sir” and always 
used the name Emmanuel because it was his friend’s wish. 

Edward, junior, no more felt himself, but an automaton, 
an instrument obeying not only his master’s word but 
even his thought. Asura often tested his obedience and his 
ability to understand his tacit orders. When he tacitly 
ordered the boy to fetch an object from his cabin, Edward 
brought it immediately. Sometimes Asura’s thought ordered 
him to talk nonsense during fifteen minutes and then to recite 
some verses which his master’s thought dictated to him word 
for word, and Edward never faltered. 

Edward, junior, was now absolutely subservient to 
Asura’s will and was sent by his master to share the life 


The Performance 79 

of the crew. He had to wear a sailor’s costume and to 
clean the deck and the rooms. 

“I despise that boy,” said Asura to himself. “He is one 
of the many cowards of my despised attendants. I sub¬ 
jugated them all.” 

And he sighed, thinking of Sura the Divine, whose at¬ 
tendants were strong, noble-minded, independent men, who 
fulfilled their task with joy and gratitude, knowing that 
humanity was to be built in the midst of the race, a happy 
unity spreading over all the world. 

He had to oppose that sacred work! 

But without him it could not be accomplished; that he 
knew. 

From that day, he sat alone on deck, wistfully looking 
at the countries passing beneath his ship, as it traversed 
southern China; the Yangtse-Kiang River. 

In Tibet, Lhasa’s inhabitants clenched their fists at the 
sight of the huge air-fleet being in the country where no 
stranger was allowed to penetrate without their consent. 

Asura ordered his ship to circle about Mount Everest, 
the highest mountain on earth. He looked down on the im¬ 
mense glaciers and snowfields, on the perpendicular rocks 
and sharp cliffs, where even the snow could not adhere. At 
some places, the glaciers looked blue like the Mediterranean, 
at others green like the Italian and Swiss lakes: large petri¬ 
fied cataracts, flowing to the valleys, which seemed to contain 
mysteries of all kinds in their dark untrodden abysses and 
grottoes. 

At Asura’s gesture, the aeroplane was directed toward 
the south, and the same day landed at Darjiling, where the 
Opposer was warmly welcomed by all the inhabitants. 

Next day, Asura intended to give a performance on 
Observatory Hill, one of the famous Buddhist places of the 
country. The public was invited gratis. 


80 


The Birth of Humanity 


The scene presented was of an Egyptian Temple. Asura, 
who played the part of Philalethes, the Lover of Truth, en¬ 
tered the stage clothed in brilliant orange robes, illumined 
with mysterious lights. He was like an angel of beauty; his 
face, encircled by his beautiful hair, was luminous, and his 
lovely smile conquered in a moment, the greater part of 
his auditors. All hearts were drawn to the man, who seemed 
to incarnate the eagerness for truth. A man of so con¬ 
quering a nature saw all his wishes granted; he had only to 
wish to obtain; if he wished to find the truth, then he would 
have obtained it. 

Philalethes was admitted into the presence of Thoth the 
god of Wisdom, who appeared in the temple like a flash of 
lightning. 

“Teach me the truth,” said Philalethes with a thrilling 
voice. “I have sought for truth since my childhood. T will 
find truth.” 

“You will,” said the god in a thunderous voice. “Truth 
is wisdom.” 

“Wisdom? What is wisdom?” 

But the god had disappeared. 

Philalethes shouted: 

“Wisdom! Wisdom!” 

The echoes among the far away Himalayas repeated the 
words without giving any answer: 

“Wisdom! Wisdom!”—until the sounds had mingled 
with the sighs of the breeze. 

Asura sat down on a bench, burying his face in his hands. 

The audience saw the temple slowly disappear as if 
wrapped in a light mist. At the same time, it was replaced 
by a Persian temple. 

For some time Philalethes paced the stage, lost in his 
thoughts. Then he lifted his head, amazed. 

“Where am I; where is Thoth, the god of wisdom?” 


The Performance 


81 


Suddenly a loud voice was heard and Ormazd stood upon 
the stage, slender as a tree. His noble, black-bearded face 
was an emblem of power. 

“I am Ormazd, the god of the gods.” 

With hands clasped Philalethes said: 

“I beseech thee, mighty god, where is truth?” 

“Truth lies in purity,” said the god and disappeared. 

Asura shouted with his melodious voice: 

“Purity! Purity! Teach me purity.” 

But the Himalayas only repeated his desperate entreaties 
as they penetrated into the glaciers and caverns of the moun¬ 
tains; and no answer was heard. 

The Persian temple, dissolved into nothingness and a 
Fata Morgama was seen in the air: Buddha’s large statue of 
Kamakura, transformed into a living creature. 

Philalethes cried out again: 

“Buddha! Buddha! Teach me truth.” 

And a voice like a powerful pipe organ answered: 

“Knowledge of the laws.” 

And Asura, was again alone, listening to Buddha’s words, 
which were absorbed, like the others, by the Himalayan 
caverns. 

Some moments later, Lao Tse appeared, clad in gorgeous 
Chinese robes. 

“Teach me truth!” said Philalethes in a low tone. 

“The road.” 

“Don’t disappear like the others, I beseech thee, Lao Tse! 
Teach me the road.” 

“The road is knowledge!” 

And he disappeared. 

“Knowledge! Knowledge!” 

And the Himalayas, swallowing his words, seemed to 
laugh at him. 


82 


The Birth of Humanity 


Philalethes’ face showed deep sorrow, as he said between 
passionate sobs: 

“Truth! Truth! Where is truth?” 

Suddenly Socrates and Plato stood at his side and said: 

“We seek the truth, even as thou.” 

Some moments later the philosophers of all nations and 
all centuries appeared together. 

Philalethes turned to them. 

“Ye are all great thinkers; are ye not able to teach me 
truth ?” 

They bowed their heads, without answer. 

The auditors looked at the grand scenery displayed before 
their wondering eyes. How could any stage in the world 
be transformed with such a rapidity and such absolute per¬ 
fection? No one was able to discover the artifice, if 
artifice there was. The scenes followed one another almost 
without interruption, one replacing the other at the very 
moment of its disappearance. From whence came those 
speaking gods and philosophers? There was not even a 
stage; Emmanuel stood on a natural platform, backed by the 
imposing range of the Himalayas. 

Philalethes stretched himself on a marble bench and an 
absolute silence reigned. The auditors, facing the moun¬ 
tains, looked at the holy range with increasing admiration. 
The sun lighted the Himalayas with blending splendor, 
lending its most glorious rays to the Kanchenjunga, the 
highest peak of all, which crowned the panorama with its 
imposing snowfields. The moving orb poured its rays over 
all the mountains, revealing new beauties every minute, seek¬ 
ing them out in the most hidden places of the glaciers and 
snowfields, bringing them to the light with a joyous pride. 
The glorious whiteness of the immense Janu was brought 
into view and some moments later was thrown back into 
the shadow, yielding its place to an emerald glacier of the 


The Performance 


83 


magnificient Kabru or the rocky peaks of the graceful Pan- 
dim. Every moment produced new beauties, surprising 
changes and other aspects. 

Philalethes, draped in his splendid robes, lifted his head 
saying: 

“Truth! Truth! Come to me out of the unseen!” 

Suddenly a tremendous voice came to them from the 
highest mountain: 

“Truth lies not in wisdom, nor in purity, nor in law, nor 
in knowledge; nor is it to be reached through philosophy.” 

The mountain echoed all the words pronounced by the 
gods and philosophers and swallowed by its caverns and 
glaciers. 

Philalethes asked with a broken voice: 

“Oh, God of the Himalayas, thou the greatest of all 
mountain angels, reveal to me the place of truth!” 

“It is to be found in Beauty alone!” 

“Beauty! Beauty!” shouted Philalethes in a high tone. 
“I thank thee, holy spirit. I will seek truth in beauty!” 

“Arrive ye spirits of beauty from all parts of the uni¬ 
verse!” 

He stretched his arms, as if embracing the world. 

“Arrive! Arrive! Truth and beauty! Let me call thee 
with my song.” 

And he sang in a tenor voice, so beautiful as was 
never before heard on earth; it was a glorification of beauty, 
calling all nature-spirits to his purpose. And the most 
beautiful children showed themselves dancing between the 
shrubs, with light wings and charming garments; little 
beings, agile as dream-fairies, graceful and joyous; real in¬ 
carnations of beauty and loveliness. Not the least noise was 
audible though they jumped several feet high and fell back 
on their miniature feet or to their knees and even on their 
backs and breasts. 


84 


The Birth of Humanity 


Soon they grew from the infantile age into puberty; ideal 
boys and girls, arms and legs bare, with light gauze cos¬ 
tumes, transparent like cobwebs, floating on the breath of the 
wind. They danced as noiselessly as the children and as 
gracefully, forming garlands of youthful bodies with smil¬ 
ing faces, the hair of the girls floating about their shoulders; 
and that of the boys, thickly curled, not falling beyond the 
neck. 

Then the boys disappeared and the girls grew into 
womanhood: an ideal set of grown-up women, one as beau¬ 
tiful as the other; but each of a different type of beauty. 

The surroundings of the dancers changed many times; 
the Himalayas, alone, were unchangeable in their gigantic 
restfulness. All seasons of the year succeeded one another 
upon the platform: spring with its flowering shrubs, sum¬ 
mer with its full-grown vegetation, autumn with its various 
fruits, and winter with its splendid blanket of snow 
and glazed frost. And the costumes of the dancing girls 
changed with each season; but it was impossible to discover 
in what way the metamorphosis took place. The number 
of dancing girls increased every moment; soon hundreds of 
them shared the privilege of showing their beauty to the 
amazed public; not a single one was ill-favored. And the 
public wondered how so many nice girls could be drawn 
to the heart of the Himalayas. From whence did Emmanuel 
bring them ? 

Even the Himalayas took part in the splendid scene. The 
sun, having disappeared, painted the mountains with scarlet 
tints, an overflowing of royal colors. A crimson mantle was 
cast over the landscape, covering with its mighty folds the 
immense snow-fields and glaciers; it seemed to fall from the 
gigantic shoulders of the Kangchenjunga which was en¬ 
throned above its mates with a glorious pride to rest on the 


The Performance 


85 


graceful head of the Janu and the blending magnificence 
of the Kabru. Purple descended deeper and deeper into the 
valley, throwing burning flames into the hollows of the cav¬ 
erns, enveloping the glaciers in colors of coral, painting the 
nude rocks with vermilion tints. 

In proportion as the carmine grew darker and darker, 
a mysterious brightness appeared on the stage between the 
dancing girls as if each emanated her own light; these lights 
increased every minute, and soon dominated the carmine 
splendor of the mountains. 

The gowns of the girls were transformed into trans¬ 
parent wings, and all looked like angels; an indescribable 
expression of purity was on their faces. The background 
now represented a huge gate with the glowing inscription: 

"temple of beauty" 

Emmanuel’s voice was heard from behind the doors, 
singing a war-song. Such clear notes had never been heard. 
His high C was marvelous; it seemed composed of the brass 
notes of an ideal trumpet, the sweetness of the breeze and 
the clearness of crystal. He sang of the beauty of the human 
being and the beauty of the angels. 

Suddenly the doors were flung open and Emmanuel was 
seen, seated on a golden throne. He wore ancient Greek 
armour, a golden casque upon his head; his breast was hid¬ 
den behind a shining cuirass. His hand rested upon a 
sword, the hilt and sheath of which were covered with 
large diamonds. As he rose, he seemed the god Mars in¬ 
carnated. All the winged angels circled about his throne 
with hands clasped, and singing a song of praise, bowing 
deeply before the powerful hero, who seemed to personify 
the god of beauty. 

Some moments later, all disappeared and the crowd left 
the hill. 


86 


The Birth of Humanity 


Next morning, Edward, junior, and some boys of the 
crew, busying themselves with the cleaning of Asura’s 
clothes, talked about the performance of the preceding 
night. 

“How is it possible,” said Edward, “to give such a beauti¬ 
ful play without any preparation? And from whence came 
those hundreds of beautiful girls?” 

One of the lads smiled, saying: 

“They did not exist.” 

“They seemed as real as possible.” 

“They were not. Of the entire performance our master 
himself was the only real personage. Some days ago, being 
for a few moments in a kinder mood, he told me how he 
casts a glamour on his auditors. He has a wondrous power 
of mind which enables him to show to other people what 
he wishes them to see. There is nothing that he cannot 
bring before one's eyes. He allowed me to choose what I 
wished to see and he produced upon my request, a tiger, a 
lion, two elephants, a hippopotamus and two Chinese, all 
walking across the deck. But he explained that they did 
not exist. So all those girls, temples, sages, Buddha’s im¬ 
mense figure and the rest belonged to the illusion he cast 
over his public and us.” 

“But what is his purpose in doing so?” 

“It seems that he has the power to modify the nervous 
system of a part of his audience. But he did not explain 
that to me. 

“He calls all those who admire him and his performances 
weak characters and he despises them. But those who re¬ 
sist the temptation of admiring him are strong and he re¬ 
spects them.” 

The sailors went on cleaning their master’s elaborate 
costumes, polishing the armors Emmanuel used in his per- 


The Performance 


87 


formances or washing his underwear. All the doors were 
open and the Himalayas showed themselves in the distance. 

“Emmanuel is a terrible man,” said one of the boys. “He 
compels us to hate each other—and we do. I hate you, Ed¬ 
ward, with all my will.” 

“Hate me?” said Edward alarmed. 

“Yes. I wish to flog you to death, but we are not al¬ 
lowed to ill-treat each other. However, we quarrel all the 
time.” 

Edward trembled, not knowing what to think of the peo¬ 
ple he was living with. It is true that they were always 
quarreling, and sometimes he felt inclined the same way— 
he who had never quarreled in his life. 

“And we cannot flee,” said another boy. “All the doors 
of the ship are open but we cannot pass the threshold.” 

“I don’t believe that,” said Edward, with a laugh. 

He walked to the door but was actually unable to go 

out. 

“What does this mean?” he demanded, stamping his 

% 

foot. 

“I don’t know, but it is so. None of us can flee. Once 
(I know not how) I succeeded in leaving the ship and flee¬ 
ing a hundred yards. But I was compelled to come back 
and when I re-entered the ship I heard our master’s laugh 
in the dining-room.” 

“We are like his slaves,” said one of the sailors, “and we 
have to call Emmanuel ‘master.’ I cannot do otherwise. I 
tried many times to say ‘Emmanuel’ or ‘Sir’ but I could 
not.” 

“I did,” said Edward with a proud look, “he even en¬ 
treated me to call him ‘friend’ and ‘Emmanuel.’ ” 

The boy laughed. 

“He entreated us all to do so. We have all lived in the 


88 


The Birth of Humanity 


splendid suite of rooms you occupied some weeks ago; we 
all slept in the soft bed you used. How many times he took 
my arm in his kind way! He is a seducer.” 

The sailor looked for some time into the distance with a 
sad expression in his eyes, before he added: 

“And meanwhile he destroyed my will, bit by bit, like a 
spider binding a fly into its web, limb by limb, till it can 
move no more. When I was powerless, he made me one of 
his sailors. 

“This is the history of us all. Most of us have been sub¬ 
jugated in three days. You resisted three weeks, Edward. 
I hoped that you would resist, forever; for then he would 
have proclaimed you a hero. But you yielded at last. What 
is your profession, Edward?” 

“I am a lawyer.” 

“So am I—and, see! You polish our master’s boots 
and I am brushing his coat. The man you see there wash¬ 
ing our master’s shirts is an engineer, and he who polishes 
the sword is a doctor. The young man there was a banker.” 

“But why does our master behave in that way?” 

“He wants men to put into practice his evil purposes. He 
sends us out to do wrong to human beings, to sow into their 
hearts all that is base and evil, to destroy all of the noble 
impulses that blossom in their souls.” 

“But then we can flee,” said Edward, hopefully. 

“We cannot; he leads us by the string of his will, and we 
must obey. Most times I know only very vaguely what I 
have been doing and saying, but I know that it has been 
bad.” 

“Is our master an immoral man?” asked Edward. 

“He!! There is no purer being on earth. I wish he 
would be immoral, for then he would lose all his power, and 


The Performance 


89 


wc would be free. We, his sailors, may not even think of 
impurity.” 

“But what is his purpose?” said Edward growing im¬ 
patient. 

“It seems that there is a holy being treading the earth, 
incarnating charity and kindness, named Sura. Our master’s 
only object is to oppose him. It will be an immense strug¬ 
gle. If Sura is victorious we will be free, if not—then it 
will be slavery, forever.” 

“But,” said Edward in a trembling voice, “is it not 
possible to disobey?” 

“Disobey him! Him! Impossible!” 

The boy burst into tears and said: 

“And he has but one word for us: Cowards! Cowards! 
And I think we are—we are cowards to let him dominate 
our will-power in this way. But I think that our master is 
a super-human being.” 

“But what do you advise me to do?” said Edward, with 
tears in his eyes. 

“Obey, obey, my boy, all resistance is in vain. And hate; 
hate as much as you can; hate the master, hate me and 
all the sailors; scold us. That will calm your nerves. We 
are the most unhappy beings on earth.” 

It was unnecessary to mention this to Edward; at night, 
in his hard hammock, he used to weep for hours, not know¬ 
ing what to do. One day, when the ship was sailing high in 
the air, he tried to jump over the rail to escape life. But 
he was unable to do so; the sailors were not allowed to 
leave the ship nor to commit suicide. Asura wanted his 
helpers alive. 

Asura hated and despised his crew, because all of them 
had yielded to his will-power. His aim was to choose strong 


90 


The Birth of Humanity 


men and offer them to Sura as his principal co-workers. If 
they resisted his thought-power, he honored them and 
brought them in triumph to Sura. This had happened a few 
times and he had rejoiced at the event, but those who 
yielded were doomed to serve him. He always tested clever, 
strong young men, because they could help him better in his 
work than stupid, uncivilized boys. His followers had to 
behave like gentlemen, and when they were seen in company, 
talking with ladies and with men, nobody would think them 
the most unhappy beings on earth, dominated by Asura, and 
doomed to share his work of destruction. 

When the young men were at work in the world, he 
controlled them every moment and when they did not suc¬ 
ceed, he called them back by thought and it happened that 
one of them, talking with a girl, was suddenly stricken 
dumb, and walked away like an automaton and came back 
to the aeroplane to resume his stupid work on board. 

Asura was unwilling to entertain idle boys, as he said, 
and when they came back from their work in the world, 
they had to put on their sailor-costume and clean the elab¬ 
orate airship, where there was always ample to do. 

When Asura observed that Edward, junior, was not sub¬ 
jugated as easily as others, he hoped to have found another 
of Sura’s co-workers, but at Nagasaki the young man be¬ 
gan losing his power of resistance, and some days later, 
Emmanuel, disgusted at his own triumph, sent him to share 
the life of the crew. 

Edward, junior, whose eloquence was almost as power¬ 
ful as his father’s, was used by Asura to make addresses. 
When the latter judged it necessary he called the young man. 

“Come here. You will be ready, tonight, at a quarter to 
eight, in full dress at the entrance door of the ship; wait 
for me. You shall make an address of one hour and a half.” 


The Performance 


91 


Giving him a paper, he continued: “Here are the notes. Be 
gone.” 

Asura never used either harsh words or strong expres¬ 
sions, in public, because his public behavior had to be above 
reproach: therein resided his power. He was the perfect 
actor, the hero, the idol of all those who saw him. He him¬ 
self could not fight the great Sura, because fighting is an 
undignified occupation that would have harmed his reputa¬ 
tion as an ideal being. As soon as he had heard Edward 
Bicker, junior, deliver an address at Amsterdam, he said: 

“There is my man.” 

He invited the young man to accompany him on a trip 
around the world in an aeroplane, and Edward, junior, 
being under the influence of Asura’s genial and attractive 
manner, had accepted with joy. 

The boy now cursed the moment he had set foot in 
Asura’s ship. 


Chapter V 


THE SERMON IN THE BOAT 

Edward Bicker, the father, was crossing the Korean 
straits between Shimonoseki and Fusan. As soon as he had 
entered his aeroplane, the captain showed him a new ap¬ 
paratus installed in his room, through which he might be 
in regular communication with his home at Amsterdam. 
The captain showed him how to use the controls and soon 
his wife’s beloved face appeared on the screen before him. 

“How glad I am to see you, again,” said Edward, deeply 
affected. “We are so far from each other and yet so near. 
I am using, at this moment, an apparatus in a room of my 
aeroplane. In the future, we will converse every day. We 
will be separated only for the time I am far from my ship.” 

Ann asked news of their son Edward, but our hero could 
not give any information. The mother related what had 
happened during the unfortunate days of Emmanuel’s so¬ 
journ at Amsterdam. The greater part of the audience 
had been greatly moved by the splendid performance, by 
the beauty of the scenery and Emmanuel’s sweet singing; 
but she and her eldest son John had felt uneasy as if the 
room were filled with evil influences. Edward, junior, had 
been enraptured with all he had seen and heard. His eyes 
were attached to the stage and the mother had tried in 
vain to recall him to reality by touching his knee. After 
the performance, he had been introduced to Emmanuel, who 
had invited him to make a trip around the world in order 
to assist him in his work, and the young man had ac¬ 
cepted. Taking leave from his mother, he had said that 


The Sermon in the Boat 


93 


he would probably never return. Since that day no news 
had come from him. 

Edward feared that Emmanuel’s influence over his son 
would be evil; Emmanuel was Asura, the Great Opposer, 
from whom no good could be expected. 

But the father did not despair; his son had a strong 
character, which had been proven in his studies, his good 
conduct, and his kindness toward all people; he was a real 
Bicker, strong against evil. 

Ann said that John hated Emmanuel since he had car¬ 
ried away his brother and that the girls cried each time 
the boy’s name was mentioned. 

Edward told the captain what had happened to his son 
and the man looked alarmed, but promised to investigate. 
Next day, the captain brought the required information: 

“Your son is not in danger, Mr. Bicker, but he is in un¬ 
favorable conditions, submitted to Asura’s powerful will. 
He has to make addresses in all parts of the world to op¬ 
pose Sura’s work.” 

“Is his morality endangered?” 

“Not at all, Mr. Bicker.” He gave no further details. 

Edward was now in daily intercourse with Ann and, 
knowing that their son was safe, they did not worry any 
more about the boy, and their conversations were of a more 
cheerful character. 

Edward told Ann about his travels and his work in 
Sura’s behalf, always speaking with increasing enthusiasm. 
He felt so happy to be chosen to accomplish this great en¬ 
terprise. 

He made two addresses at Seoul, Korea’s beautiful cap¬ 
ital. Before arriving there, the captain directed his ship 
over all the city which glittered between the surrounding 
mountains like a diamond in its setting. The old granite 


94 


The Birth of Humanity 


palace, built in the midst of a beautiful park, showedi 
itself in all its glory, and the ship sailed so near the land 
that Edward could distinctly see the graceful marble pagoda 
and the famous turtle, bearing a tombstone. 

He met with great difficulties during his lectures. Asura 
had given a splendid performance in the town; he had filled 
the people with joy, and they listened with distaste to Ed¬ 
ward Bicker, who tried to prove to them that Emmanuel’s 
theories were false. He saw the Koreans’ yellow faces, con¬ 
cealed under their graceful transparent top-hats, glitter with 
discontent and their long white robes undulate with signs 
of indignation. But there was no danger for the lecturer. 

The air-ship, on her way to Mukden, reached Antung, 
the first Chinese town of her journey; it was a quiet har¬ 
bor, sleeping beside the river Yalu. Then extending her 
journey further to the northwest, crossing the beautiful 
mountain-range, dividing the Liaotung Peninsula into two 
equal parts, the great city of Mukden, Manchuria’s ancient 
capital, appeared. 

Bicker intended to deliver two addresses in this im¬ 
portant place. Before leaving the aeroplane, the captain 
talked for some time with his passenger about the dangers 
the lecturer would have to face. Asura had given a per¬ 
formance there, which had thrown the population into rap¬ 
tures; the Opposer had never met with such enthusiasm. 
The old Manchurian blood boiled with exultation at the 
mere mention of the singer’s name. It was probable that 
even Bicker’s life would be endangered; he, the captain, had 
sent some of his men to study the building where the ad¬ 
dress was to be delivered and its surroundings and would 
lend Edward their assistance if required; but all danger 
could not be prevented. 


The Sermon in the Boat 


95 


“I ask you, Mr. Bicker/’ said the captain, “have you 
courage to face the danger?” 

“I have, sir.” 

“It may be that you will pay for your courage with 
your life. Think of your wife and children. You are per¬ 
fectly free not to go. If you prefer to leave Mukden di¬ 
rectly, we will go on to Peking, where the conditions are 
much better than here.” 

“No, sir, when I accepted the Brother’s proposal to enter 
upon this great spiritual work, I did so knowing that my 
life might be endangered, and I resolved to face all neces¬ 
sary dangers.” 

“You are a brave man, Mr. Bicker and you are right 
to face the consequences of your resolution. We will do 
all possible for you.” 

An automobile left its garage inside the aeroplane and 
Edward rode to the hall, where he was to speak. It was 
crowded with a hostile looking audience. A humming noise 
was heard; a foreboding of extraordinary events. Edward 
was received in the anteroom by a committee of the World- 
Religion Society, some members of which were faithful to 
the founder. 

They wore alarmed expressions; the situation was very 
critical. Emmanuel had sent some of his men to oppose the 
speaker, and for half an hour, they had been exciting the 
audience to fight the orator. The committee proposed to 
adjourn the address to a later date, when the excitement 
of Emmanuel’s performance would have abated somewhat. 
But Edward was of another opinion. 

“I have a sacred task to accomplish, dear sirs. It is 
not certain thati I will be able to return here, and it is pos¬ 
sible that a strong center of Sura’s followers may be organ- 


96 


The Birth of Humanity 


ized in this city. I will not assume the responsibility of 
leaving an important town like this in lack of my Master’s 
light. Let us go in.” 

And he walked into the hall with a firm step. 

When he ascended the platform, the noise immediately 
ceased, and he could speak without raising his voice. He 
spoke first of the wars and revolutions which had devastated 
the world, and of the need of better times, better under¬ 
standing and better sentiments. The world had asked for 
light and the light-bringer was near. God had sent one of 
His messengers to teach a new gospel to the human race, and 
to lay the foundations of a new community, based upon new 
divine ordinances, an international community, where wars, 
revolutions and hate could not exist, and unity of spirit was 
to take the place of egotism and rivalry. This golden age 
was at hand, if only the race was willing to accept the 
words of the great Messenger, whose advent he was pre¬ 
paring. 

“The messenger is Emmanuel,” shouted a voice. 

“Yes, yes, Emmanuel, Emmanuel!” yelled other voices. 

“No, he is not,” said Bicker in a clear voice. “That 
man’s performance is utterly false. It says that truth is not 
to be found in wisdom but in beauty. He has created a 
false opposite. There is no opposition possible between wis¬ 
dom and beauty. Beauty is the outcome of wisdom like the 
flower is the outcome of the plant. A flower cannot be 
formed without the plant; so beauty cannot exist without 
wisdom.” 

At this moment, a terrible noise arose in the hall; 
clenched fists were to be seen everywhere. 

“He attacks Emmanuel, the messenger of the gods!” 

“Death to the daring man!” 

“Down with the blasphemer!” 


The Sermon in the Boat 


97 


“The blasphemer is Emmanuel, the false prophet,” 
shouted Edward. “There is but one messenger of God, Sura, 
the Divine!” 

“Sura is an impostor,” yelled one of Asura’s slaves. 
“Let’s not listen to the man who calls himself Edward 
Bicker and is not the person he pretends to be. You all 
heard the real Edward’s address. Bicker is a boy, Em¬ 
manuel’s friend.” 

“Down with the impostor who uses another man’s name.” 

And many Chinese and white men rushed to the plat¬ 
form, some of whom were armed. 

Edward felt himself suddenly lifted from the ground 
and pushed into the anteroom, and the door was imme¬ 
diately locked behind his back. And the captain of the 
aeroplane stood before him. 

“In time, God be praised!” said he. 

A Chinaman was clinging to Edward’s arms, a long knife 
in his hand, ready to plunge it into Bicker’s heart. The 
captain snatched it from the man’s hand and was about to 
kill the murderer with his own weapon. 

Edward turned aside the captain’s hand, saying: 

“Don’t touch that man, captain.” 

Then turning to the Chinaman: 

“Do you think that I hate you? I pity you.” 

And laying his land on the Chinaman’s shoulder he said: 

“Go in peace, and do not attempt to take your neighbor’s 
life.” 

The man crouched in a corner of the room. 

But danger still seemed more imminent than ever. The 
people outside the room knocked at the doors, yelling mur¬ 
derous words. The doors were attacked by means of big 
wooden poles and soon a hole was punched through one of 
them. Bicker at first judged himself lost, when he saw the 


98 


The Birth of Humanity 


wooden floor of the room lifted up and his chauffeur jump¬ 
ing into the room; the man took hold of his master, dragged 
him down and pushed him into the automobile, which 
started forward at the same instant. 

But the escape being known, Edward’s vehicle was pur¬ 
sued by many others, which tried to overtake it. A ter¬ 
rible race followed, first through Mukden’s streets and later 
across the country. Guns were fired behind our hero and 
the chauffeur’s arm was hit by a ball, but he did not 
slacken the pace of his machine. 

Edward asked: 

“Are you losing blood?” 

But the chauffeur, whose attention was divided between 
the road before him and his pursuers behind, did not 
answer. 

The aeroplane’s huge form came suddenly into clear 
view, when a ball struck one of the tires of the machine, 
and the speed was slackened. The chauffeur looked alarmed 
but did not yet despair. He produced two bombs from his 
pocket to destroy the road behind him. 

This being done, Edward’s automobile made some ad¬ 
vance on the enemy. But the latter had soon cleared the ob¬ 
stacles and the chauffeur felt his forces dwindle. 

Edward again considered himself lost. 

He was about to jump out of the machine and to drag 
the chauffeur into the aeroplane. 

But the damaged automobile had been observed by the 
crew of the airship and the aeroplane approached with speed. 
Some minutes later, they met and the automobile was, so to 
speak, thrown into the aeroplane. At the same moment, even 
before the doors had been shut, the ship was lifted from the 
ground and our hero was saved. 

The chauffeur fainted. 


The Sermon in the Boat 


99 


Edward found himself in a part of the aeroplane where 
he had never been before—between two* long passages, bor¬ 
dered with many cabins. But he scarcely looked at them. In 
the background stood a tall figure clothed in white robes, 
a man, whose glorious eyes smiled at our hero; and his hand 
waved a salute in blessing. Bicker had never seen so im¬ 
posing a person nor so beautiful a one. Edward took a step 
in his direction but the chief-mate took his arm, opened a 
door and pushed him into his own apartment. 

“Who is this man?” Edward asked the mate, who had 
followed him. 

“One of our passengers,” said the man, evasively. 

After some moments, he said: 

“We fear that the captain has been killed.” 

“Killed! And for my sake!” 

“He went out with the purpose of protecting you 
against the dangers threatening you at Mukden, Mr. 
Bicker.” 

“What a terrible calamity! So kind and noble minded a 
man! I will never forget what I owe him. He has been 
a real friend to me. And is there no chance that he may 
have been rescued ?” 

“There is, Mr. Bicker. If he is alive and free, we will 
try to get him on board.” 

“In what way?” 

“We will hover over Mukden the whole day, giving 
signals, to let him know where we are going to wait for 
him—a spot behind the mountains. If he is able to do so, 
he will join us there.” 

The aeroplane cruised above the city the entire day, re¬ 
peatedly giving the same signals. She did the same during 
the first part of the night and landed at the appointed place 
before, sunrise. Edward was not allowed to descend to 
the ground. 


100 


The Birth of Humanity 


All the doors of the aeroplane were closed, save one 
guarded by armed sailors who had to admit, and perhaps to 
defend, the captain at the moment he might arrive. 

The second day Edward, being on the deck, saw a 
bearded man walking slowly with his hands in his pockets, 
whom he recognized as the captain. As soon as the latter 
had entered the ship, it was lifted into the air and started 
to the northwest. 

For days she sailed over the Gobi Desert—an eternity 
of sand and more sand. 

One morning, Edward found all the doors of his apart¬ 
ment closed and even all the shutters of the windows, so 
that he had to use artificial light. 

The captain explained the situation—-the ship lay near a 
holy city, whose existence was unknown to the world, and 
which, for some time to come, must remain unknown even 
to Bicker himself. 

“I am very sorry for you, Mr. Bicker, but we will stay 
here for ten days and you will not be allowed to go on the 
deck, or even to look out of the window.” 

“But, my dear captain, how can any place on earth be 
concealed ? Surely, all places have been investigated.” 

“Not this, Mr. Bicker. By land, it is protected by im¬ 
mense abysses of sands, and all aeroplanes are led astray.” 

“And what is the name of the city?” 

“Call it the City of Light, Mr. Bicker.” 

Edward stayed the ten days on board, reading and writ¬ 
ing. He passed long hours before his pipe organ and his 
piano, playing ex tempore or using the musical library 
which contained the best works the composers of all cen¬ 
turies have produced. 

The captain came every day to talk with his guest for a 
couple of hours and they spoke of Sura’s work and the 


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The Sermon in the Boat 


101 


best way to foster it. Edward’s friend gave him valuable 
advice as to how to remove the heaviest difficulties from 
the Master’s path. 

“Your work is necessary, Mr. Bicker,” he said. “A 
being like Sura cannot be exposed to experiences like those 
you met with at Mukden, because his physical body is com¬ 
posed of such delicate materials that it would be damaged 
by even such harsh words as are spoken by angry people, im¬ 
agining themselves his enemies.” 

“Then I will have to go back to Mukden, to prepare 
Sura’s coming.” 

“That will probably not be necessary, Mr. Bicker, be¬ 
cause you have been there.” 

“But I was prevented from speaking, sir.” 

“You have spoken some words, and these few words 
have opened the eyes of many of Mukden’s inhabitants.” 

The captain explained how he had walked for hours 
in the city and listened to those who had attended Ed¬ 
ward’s interrupted address. Many of them had understood 
the criticism on Asura’s performance and approved it. They 
had seen the edifice of the Opposer’s philosophy ruined, as 
soon as Bicker had attacked its foundations. The Chinese 
have much common sense. 

Asura’s performance rested on the false hypothesis that 
wisdom and beauty were opposites. The speaker’s image 
of the plant and the flower had made a great impression on 
the thinking minds, and at this moment Asura would have 
been unable to repeat his performance at Mukden without 
meeting with as many protests as Bicker had encountered 
during his address. 

“You are a splendid man, Mr. Bicker,” said the cap¬ 
tain with a smile. “There is no man on earth capable of 
doing better with your work in behalf of Sura, the Di- 

• f) 

vine. 


102 


The Birth of Humanity 


The next place where the ship alighted was Peking, 
China’s large and beautiful capital. The captain showed 
Bicker the city with its immense walls and splendid build¬ 
ings; the Temple of Heaven with its azure roof, like 
heaven itself, and its sumptuous marble altars, from where 
the most sacred thoughts of the Chinese used to go up to 
the Creator of all things. The aeroplane hovered a long 
time above the Forbidden City with its Palace of Heavenly 
Purity, its Halls of Concord and its Noon-Gate. She flew 
near the Yellow Temple with its marble towers, pointing 
to heaven like a gigantic hand stretched toward the Di¬ 
vine, and landed finally near the town, where Edward was 
directed to a hotel. 

As soon as he had made his addresses at China’s capital 
he was sent to Nankow where he admired the old wall, 
erected to defend the Chinese from Mongolian attacks and 
which climbs over the mountains like a chamois; he visited 
the Ming-Tombs, protected by a row of gigantic stone 
animals and men which seem ready to prevent any profane 
approach. 

Meanwhile Sura’s followers were preparing the place 
where the Master would preach. They had chosen the 
summer palace outside the city, kindly loaned for the pur¬ 
pose by the authorities. This beautiful place was ideal on 
account of its immense proportions and location, enclosing 
a lake, surrounded by hills, whose ever-green summits are 
covered with the most exquisite temples. The Inland Sea, 
traversed by marble bridges of the most graceful forms, was 
covered with a quiet, watching crowd. The shores and 
the hills held a great multitude of people of many races, 
fraternally assembled to listen to Sura, who was already fa¬ 
mous throughout a large part of the world. 

Sura’s wisdom had been admired in Japan, in Korea and 


The Sermon in the Boat 


103 


in parts of China, where it had been received with rev¬ 
erence by many people, with indifference by others and with 
enmity by the fanatics. But nowhere had base passions raged 
in Sura’s presence; it seemed that they had exhausted their 
strength during Bicker’s addresses, which sometimes seemed 
open conflicts, rather than announcements of wisdom. If 
our hero had not been supported by his unshakable faith in 
Sura’s divine mission, he would long since have been again 
in the midst of his family. But he felt that the spirit divine, 
speaking through Sura’s mouth, could not be poured out 
without his assistance, at least not in such an accomplished 
way. 

Some groups discussed the coming event in a hostile 
way, walking on the marble bridges, standing near the black 
marble bull, which had made so many marvelous cures, or 
in the Buddha Temple where the Standing Hero smiles his 
inexplicable smile. Some of them gesticulated with out¬ 
stretched hands and distorted features, claiming from their 
companions that they should assist them in fighting the new 
doctrine. But others answered: 

“Nb. Let us listen to him. We need not agree, but we 
can think it over.” 

“He will beguile us, and many people will not be strong 
enough to resist.” 

“Why resist? Sura can be right.” 

At the appointed hour, the prophet arrived. How 
describe the tall figure? The author attempted to do so 
in the first chapter of this book, but no human pen is able to 
describe the divine. 

What is divine? 

Perhaps we can think it; but we feel our impotency as 
soon as we attempt to put it into words. 

Even the language the author attributes to the Great 


104 


The Birth of Humanity 


Master is far from being the same which was pronounced 
in the author’s presence at Sura’s lofty home, far from 
here, at the time that the Divine Master prepared his advent. 

The author is a human being, limited in his thinking, 
still more limited in his expression. Let the reader take 
the words as an approximation of those which the Master 
has really spoken. 

Sura traversed the garden with a measured step, clothed 
in his yellow and violet robes, draped round his tall figure. 
The public, respectfully ranged at both sides of his path, 
could not determine in what country he had been born; he 
seemed to radiate the beauties of all races. 

He smiled on all those who bowed in sign of rever¬ 
ence, and directed his step to the lake, where he conversed 
some moments with his disciples. He turned his clear eyes 
to all parts of the garden and entered a boat, provided with 
seats for the Master and his followers, and was rowed to 
some distance from the shore. 

Then he said: 

“Blessed are the charitable: for they shall be rulers of 
the hearts. Blessed are the pure: for they look into eter¬ 
nity. Blessed are the righteous: for they shall be rulers of 
mankind. Blessed are the unselfish: for they shall be 
servants of God. Blessed arc those who spread knowledge: 
for theirs is the government of the minds. Blessed are the 
faithful; for they shall see God. Blessed are the wise: for 
they shall know all things. Blessed are those who forward 
unity: for theirs is the reign of the spirit. God rules the 
universe and all beings. 

“Thou shalt merge into the Lord thy God in order to 
increase His Glory. This is the first and great command¬ 
ment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love all 
thy fellow-creatures equally, as much as thy nearest and 


The Sermon in the Boat 105 

dearest relatives. On those two commandments hang all 
the secrets of progress.” 

Having spoken these words, he paused some moments 
and the silence in the audience was so deep that the hum¬ 
ming of the libellula was heard. 

Then he went on: 

“I have been sent by my Father to give birth to Human¬ 
ity, which will be an instrument in His sacred hands. The 
great powers of the universe have trained the hearts for 
many centuries through suffering and agony, through think¬ 
ing and loving. 

“I am sent to forward righteousness and peace in the 
world. Justice and peace are not consistent as long as ye 
love one neighbor more than the other. God loves all His 
children equally. And ye are gods. Your hearts shall be 
the refuge of all. The Diamond Age is the age of equal 
love. Then humanity will be a spiritual legion useful to 
my Father in His impenetrable purposes.” 

Sura for some moments fixed his clear eyes on the sky. 
Then he lowered them to the great camel-back bridge, whose 
arches, reflected in the water, formed a perfect oval. 

Then he went on: 

“My Father will build the temple of humanity and the 
material will be the human race. The stones will be carved 
by self-knowledge and purification, and polished by inward 
peace and self-respect. These units will be combined into 
families; the families will admit friends; the friends will ad¬ 
mit the whole world. 

“The provinces will unite the towns; the states will 
unite the provinces; the continents will unite the states; the 
world will unite the continents. And humanity will be one 
brotherhood, one immense family, where all will have the 
same rights and the same duties and participate in the same 


106 


The Birth of Humanity 


love. Faith is the precursor of knowledge; be ye then faith* 
ful. Purity is the precursor of beauty; be ye then pure like 
the children.” 

And the many children who were present smiled and 
stretched out their arms to the kind and beautiful man 
whom they admired, standing in the boat on the lake. The 
parents listened with open hearts. 

Sura resumed, with his mild, clear voice, and each of his 
words reached his audience: 

“Many are the paths leading to God. Be ye, therefore, 
tolerant to all religions. Behold! There is but one light 
from which all colors flow. There is but one divine relig¬ 
ion from which all religions here below are reflections. Red 
is not a better color than yellow, nor blue better than green. 
All, together, compose the one white light. One religion is 
not better than the other. All, together, constitute the di¬ 
vine religion. Therefore let there exist a brotherhood of re¬ 
ligions as well as a brotherhood of man.” 

Sura paused a moment looking around. The shores of 
the lake were crowded with people of all races and colors, 
and many small boats surrounded his own, all loaded with 
eager hearers, some of whom strewed flowers in the water 
at the Master’s feet. 

Sura resumed his sermon: 

“A landholder was going abroad, leaving a portion of 
his land to each of his four farmers to take care of during 
his absence. And he said unto them: ‘The summer is near 
and my land will need water lest the crop be destroyed. 
Dig ye for water until it spouts like a jet; then only will 
it be proper for irrigation.’ As soon as the summer had 
arrived and the young corn-plants needed water, the first 
farmer dug a hole in the soil until the water flowed slowly; 


The Sermon in the Boat 


107 


and he used this water for irrigation, but the plants were 
poisoned and bore no fruit. 

“The second farmer dug deeper until the water flowed 
rapidly like a brook, but the young corn-plants were de¬ 
voured by insects. 

“The third farmer dug deeper until the water flowed 
like a river, but the soil was rent and the young corn- 
plants disappeared. 

“The fourth farmer dug day and night by the sweat 
of his brow until the water spouted like a jet and the crop 
was abundant and produced a high price. 

“When the landholder came home, he visited his farmers 
to collect the money for his crops, but the first farmer said: 
‘Master, I dug in the soil for water until the water came, 
but the young plants were poisoned.’ And the householder 
said: ‘Oh, thou wicked servant! Thou didst disobey my 
command to dig until the water would spout like a jet. 
Get away and I will give thy land to another farmer.’ 

“The second farmer said: ‘I have no money, Lord, be¬ 
cause there has been no crop. I dug until the water was 
abundant like a brook but the plants were devoured by the 
insects.’ And the householder said: ‘Get away, thou dis¬ 
obedient servant. I ordered thee to dig until the water 
should spout like a jet. I will give thy land to another 
farmer.’ 

“The third farmer said: ‘I have no money, Lord. I 
dug until the water came abundant like a river, but the 
soil was rent and the young plants disappeared.’ And the 
householder said: ‘Get away, thou unfaithful farmer. I 
told thee to dig until the water should spout like a jet. I 
will give thy land to another farmer.’ 

“And the fourth farmer led the landholder into his 


108 


The Birth of Humanity 


house and showed him a cupboard filled with gold, saying: 
‘O Lord, I fulfilled thy commandment and dug day and 
night by the sweat of my brow, until the water spouted 
like a jet, and I irrigated thy land and the crop was 
abundant; all this gold is thine.’ 

“And the householder said: ‘Thou faithful and good 
servant, thou art the only farmer who fulfilled my com¬ 
mandment. I will give thee also the land of the unfaith¬ 
ful farmers and thou wilt be a wealthy man.’ 

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye have no faith, ye 
will never see the kingdom of heaven.” 

The flowers, brought by Sura’s admirers, became so 
abundant that the Master’s feet disappeared among them 
and the fragrance was soon heaped up to his knees. Sura 
smiled at those who showed their gratitude in this simple 
way, and took a rose in his hand. 

Then he went on: 

“If ye will carry my words into your hearts and give 
them the honor they deserve, they will reward your de¬ 
votion and your whole being will be regenerated. The 
great impediment to your progress is coldness and indif¬ 
ference to your neighbor. Coldness and indifference are 
the ice-crusts most people drape round their souls and which 
separate them from their brothers. They walk in their in¬ 
difference and coldness like a sheep surrounded by its thick 
fleece. If the fleece is shorn, the sheep appears in its grace¬ 
ful form. So let the ice-crust be melted from your souls and 
ye will have a pure and warm intercourse with your breth¬ 
ren, lifting yourself with your neighbor, up to a higher 
unity nearer to perfection, nearer to God. 

“Do not exclude a single being from thy love, let not 
a single pure heart beat in vain near thy own and let thy 
heart beat as warmly for the one as for the other.” 

When Sura had finished he was brought to the shore 


The Sermon in the Boat 109 

and walked in the midst of the crowd, speaking with some, 
talking to those who needed advice, in his own kind way. He 
walked all over the grounds, visiting the china building 
and the temple, where the smiling Buddha stands, up¬ 
right, flanked by two smiling saints. From the top of a 
hill he let his eyes wander toward the town, which showed 
its palaces and cyclopean walls at a great distance. 

He sat down for some moments on the marble ship, 
where some fruit was brought to him and he was soon 
surrounded by children. First, one was invited to ap¬ 
proach, then a second drew nearer, a third followed, and 
some moments later there was no more room on the marble 
ship for other than children. 

Then he walked on the beautiful bridge, leading to the 
dragon temple, where he spoke again: 

“All human beings are tuned in a different key. The 
human race is still a dissonance, thrown into space like a 
strain. All the different notes sound together and no one 
can be distinguished from the other. 

“All persons will now class themselves in a certain 
note, in harmony with others, till no human being will be 
outside the sublime accord. 

“And God will receive the sound with a smile. 

“All men will find their places in the accord. Notes, 
which at first cannot harmonize, may be tuned, and in that 
way, prove harmonious with others. 

“Humanity is an instrument to be played upon by a 
divine hand. And the angels and the archangels will be 
filled with joy. 

“Humanity is a thing of beauty to be offered to my 
Father, Who is in heaven.” 

And Sura went on, walking to the high marble bridge, 
whose royal arch bridged the water with majesty. 

“Look at the beautiful arch of the bridge. Art is one of 


110 


The Birth of Humanity 


the pillars which will sustain humanity till it is full-grown. 
Beauty is harmony.” 

Then he looked at the palace, built close to the moun¬ 
tain, like a dream-palace. He sat down among the Chinese, 
who had gathered round him and he said: 

“There was a place covered with a great amount of 
beautiful stones, lying one near the other for years and 
centuries. And plants of all kinds had covered them with 
a variegated vegetation, so thick that they nearly disap¬ 
peared. And children played in the grounds and grown-up 
people used the stones as tables. But, lo! There came a 
skilled architect, who took the stones, cleaned them and 
built a glorious palace of the useless material of yore. And 
the palace became the center of a righteous government.” 

Sura had a strong influence on his audience. He did not 
convert them all to his doctrine, and in many of them the 
awakened spirit did not lull down till some days later. In 
others, a few words of the orator were sufficient to revive 
the spirit to life. This is the reason why Sura so often 
found the same faces before him. In some other persons the 
impression was lasting, having penetrated deeply into their 
souls, having built there a sacred tabernacle, pre-ordained 
to send its blessed rays into other human hearts and awaken 
therein a center of sacrifice, which would contribute to the 
growth of humanity. 

They are the most advanced types of our race, destined 
to scatter the light all over the earth. They will be the 
propagators of Sura’s influence, long after the Master’s de¬ 
parture. 

The “tabernacles” were built in Sura’s immediate dis¬ 
ciples: the great ones, who will be revered for many cen¬ 
turies. 

The “centers” awakened in persons of lesser glory, will 


The Sermon in the Boat 


111 


circle round the disciples, like the planets round the suns, 
ready to help every time assistance is needed; and the efforts 
of all will bring humanity, the new-born child, to maturity, 
in readiness to be offered to God. 

All this is very hard to explain in words, easily compre¬ 
hensible to the reader. 

Sura’s personal influence was very extensive, covering 
miles. When he was speaking or thinking in the summer- 
palace, far from Peking, the whole city and its surroundings 
were permeated by his influence, a whole province or state 
participated in the descent of divine light, shining through 
him. 

Sura lighted the soul, directly and indirectly. 

The author will try to explain this work, through a 
parable: 

Sura stands on the top of a hill, a large lighted candle 
in his hand, surrounded by thousands of people, all bear¬ 
ers of smaller candles. 

Some people come to Sura to light their candles at the 
Master’s, and turn around to give light to other persons 
standing a little lower on the slope of the hill, who give 
it in their turn to those placed still lower. Some mo¬ 
ments later the hill is ablaze with light and shines in the 
night like a column of fire. All the splendor originated 
from Sura’s candle alone. 

The Master intended to visit all the countries of the 
world, but would not be able to show his holy person 
everywhere and to speak to all human beings. But the 
miles-wide influence of his personality will have reached all 
mortals before his departure, though not all will accept 
the light. 

When Sura was in his aeroplane, it was surrounded 
with the great sphere of his influence. To those who could 


112 


The Birth of Humanity 


see the light, the ship was like a blazing sun traveling 
through space, stimulating all those who chanced to be in¬ 
side the circle of light and who, for some moments, were 
living inside the Divine Messenger. They partook of the 
life of humanity, and were for some moments incorporated 
in the immense Unity, which God needs for His Holy 
Purpose. 


Chapter VI 
sura's glorification 

As soon as Edward had concluded his lecturing tour in 
the neighborhood of China’s capital, he was led into the 
airship, which started immediately, going toward the south. 

The author will not mention all Sura’s and Bicker’s 
addresses, any more than he did before. Only those to 
which he especially desires to direct the reader’s attention 
will be described. All Edward’s addresses announced the 
coming of Sura, the Divine, and explained the reason why 
this time was chosen for the event, and prepared the people 
to receive the new doctrine. 

He met, most times, with difficulties, but his second 
addresses were generally attended by less disturbance and 
were more useful; the angrier passions were becoming ex¬ 
hausted, it seemed. 

Our hero was now in daily intercourse with his family 
in Europe. Ann and he had made arrangements regarding 
the hours of these meetings, which many times had to be 
modified on account of the longitude where the aeroplane 
happened to be. It occurred that Edward was speaking in 
broad daylight, while Ann appeared, on the screen, by ar¬ 
tificial lights. Many times Edward or Ann had to rise at 
night in order to make a conversation possible; and many 
times both were insistent that the other have his or her 
night’s rest. Edward said: 

“You have our dear children to care for, Ann. It will 
be better that I rise at night.” 

“No, Edward, better that I sacrifice my rest than you; 


114 


The Birth of Humanity 


you are engaged with your lectures. Your work is much 
more tiring than mine.” 

And they agreed that each of them, in his or her turn, 
should rise at night. 

The conversations generally ran first to the children and 
their manifold interests; to John with his little family, to 
the girls and the two boys, both going to school. Edward, 
junior’s, name was seldom mentioned, because nobody knew 
anything about him. They knew only where he was, because 
Emmanuel’s travels were described in the papers. The boy’s 
absence was a black spot in the life of both the parents, but 
they were unable to direct their child who, being of age, was 
free to go where he liked. 

The aeroplane was flowing over China’s hills, when our 
hero was speaking with his wife. He described the beau¬ 
tiful country and Ann listened, taking notes. 

An immense river appeared, the Hoang-Ho, or Yel¬ 
low River, which brings fertility to half of China. 

“I see a huge golden stream,” said Edward to his smil¬ 
ing wife, “winding through the hills like a beautiful snake. 
Large birds fly under my ship watching for prey. I see them 
through the window at the bottom of my room. Now we 
fly so near the water that the window becomes wet . . . 
some Chinese wonder at the passing of our large ship . . . 
I see two of them on their knees, probably struck dumb, 
or praying to their gods for mercy.” 

Hankau was soon reached and Edward stopped at a 
hotel in this remarkable city, situated where the important 
river Han joins the still larger Yang-tze-Kiang, China’s 
principal river. 

Some days later the ship followed the great curves of 
this glorious river of China. The captain showed our hero 
the chief points of interest, the steep mountains and the 


Sura's Glorification 


115 


Siaukuschan, which means “little orphan boy,” a granite 
island, high like a mountain, crowned with magnificent 
temples and cedars, with a pagoda on the top. The ship 
sailed over the huge town of Nanking, the imperial city of 
old, and soon reached Shanghai, the important commercial 
city on the South China Sea, where Bicker was to make four 
addresses. 

Some days later the aeroplane went down to Hong¬ 
kong. The captain preferred to follow the coast-line, sail¬ 
ing between Formosa and the continent. 

An important meeting took place that day. 

The reader must have long since suspected that Sura 
himself was traveling in the same aeroplane, where Bicker 
had passed a part of his life. Sometimes he used a smaller 
one, but most of the time he lived in the back part of Ed¬ 
ward’s ship, where he stayed with his most intimate disciples. 

The meeting was held in a large hall of the ship, as¬ 
signed to this purpose. 

Sura, covered with long white robes, seemed still taller 
than when he was seen in the open air. No nobler person 
could be imagined. His face radiated an indescribable at¬ 
mosphere of goodness and of love divine, of will-power, of 
mercy and energy. 

That man must succeed in all his enterprises. 

All resistance, even that coming from Asura himself, 
must be scattered. 

Sura was inspired and sustained by the Most High. 

H is task was a divine task. 

His princely body was composed of such impressionable 
materials and contained such a refined nervous system, that 
it could not be exposed to severe shocks like those our hero 
had to endure. A great being like Sura must be preceded 
by a forerunner, whose difficult task it was to prepare his 
Master’s path. 


116 


The Birth of Humanity 


The forerunner was Edward Bicker. 

Sura’s disciples lived in the same ship, where each had 
his apartment, and they were intended to accompany the 
Master through the world and to participate in his work of 
redemption: The Birth of Humanity. 

Humanity was going to save the human race. 

Sura had assembled his disciples in the large hall of the 
ship. He sat down and said: 

“Be seated, my Brethren.” 

For some moments all were silent, centering their 
thoughts on the great subjects, which had brought them 
together. 

Then the meeting was opened and Sura delivered an 
address to explain what had to be done in the near future 
in behalf of the great work. 

All the love of the universe seemed to radiate through 
Sura, while he was speaking of the human race which needed 
a new impulse. It had to be pushed in a new direction 
which would lead it to a higher goal. 

Each of his words was sweet and strong and full of 
meaning. There was no superfluous word and all his 
sentences were as intelligent as a brook is clear; no mis¬ 
understanding was possible. 

His disciples enjoyed the regular meetings where Sura 
spoke of his work and taught them how to behave and how 
to meditate. 

Meditation was one of their chief occupations. 

“Thought-power is the strongest power in the world,” 
Sura said. 

The disciples always felt uplifted in Sura’s presence, 
even if he did not pronounce a word. His presence alone 
worked like a sermon. 

All felt Sura’s power, but the Master abstained from 


Sura's Glorification 


117 


exerting any undue influence on his disciples’ will. He 
said: 

“Make thy will as free as possible. The will is the 
most sacred of human attributes. Ye must develop power, 
and power is inconsistent with a fettered will. No human 
will is free but in the future all will will be free.” 

After having made his address, Sura questioned his 
disciples about their work during the past few days. 

Most of them had been speaking with the people before 
and after Sura’s sermons, explaining the words, adding 
some new ideas, inciting the people to follow Sura’s ad¬ 
vice, to forward unity and lead a pure life. 

Sura listened with a smile, sometimes approving, some¬ 
times reproving a disciple in a kind way, and always ex¬ 
plaining why the man in question had not succeeded in doing 
well enough. 

All reproofs were accepted with reverence by the 
Master’s disciples. 

Sura explained to them many hidden things of nature, 
and taught them how to use nature’s inner forces for the 
benefit of the race. 

The Master’s presence, so favorable to the people in 
whose countries he stayed, was still more uplifting to those 
who lived near him and often shared his closer company. 
He imparted a germ of humanity to all those who were 
capable of receiving it and first of all to his disciples; he 
watched the germ grow, and cherished it till it promised to 
be everlasting. The disciples were intended to be the heart 
of humanity, the nucleus of the precious instrument, to be 
used by God. 

Sometimes the disciples were allowed to ask questions 
on any subjects they chose. One day questions were asked 
with regard to Edward Bicker. A Mohammedan disciple 


118 


The Birth of Humanity 


asked if our hero would never be allowed to see his wife 
and children. 

Sura answered: 

“I cannot say that it will never happen during my so¬ 
journ on earth. But a too close relationship between our 
lecturer and his family would weaken his intent to serve me 
till the end. He now possesses the means of conversing with 
his relatives, and even to see them on a screen, as many 
times as he wishes.” 

“And will he never be allowed to see thee?” asked a Parsi 
disciple. 

“No; he has too impressionable a nature for that. The 
sight of me would disturb him from his work. And it would 
be of no use because he now conducts himself as well as can 
be wished.” 

Edward made two addresses at Hongkong, where he 
was the guest of a friend living in a comfortable home on 
Victoria Peak, from where the beautiful island with its 
large town and its paradise-like surroundings were to be 
seen. A great stretch of the continent was visible, with 
Kowloon in the foreground—a large city with a great 
future of prosperity. 

He made several addresses at Canton, where a prominent 
member of the World-Religion Society showed him the 
many places of interest in the city: the Flower-Pagoda and 
other remarkable temples; the City of the Dead, where the 
corpses of the rich Chinese were kept for many years, till 
the soothsayer should discover a propitious day and a 
favorable spot to bury them. Our hero saw a beautiful 
coffin made of a crust of lac, four inches thick, in which a 
rich lady’s corpse had been waiting for more than fifty 
years. 


Sura's Glorification 


119 


At Saigon in Cochin-China, where Bicker had to speak 
French, our hero found an exceptionally clear atmosphere, 
because Emmanuel had not been there; and the captain said 
that Asura would not visit this place, nor Siam nor Burma, 
because the inhabitants of these countries were inacces¬ 
sible to his influence. Sura’s doctrine would blossom there 
without weeds. 

The aeroplane stopped three days at Ankor-Wat an im¬ 
portant Buddhist temple, located in a park not far from 
the Siamese frontier. Edward was not allowed to stay 
longer than one day in the temple and was directed to the 
royal palace of Ankor-Thom, strange like a fairy-palace, 
and to the curious lake Tonle-Sap, whose waters lose them¬ 
selves in the formidable river Me-kong. 

During this time, Sura preached a sermon at the holy 
Ankor-Wat, where relics of Buddha are preserved, and he 
spoke of this teacher with so much reverence, calling him, 
“My brother Buddha,” that in less than two hours he had 
won the hearts of Cambodia’s inhabitants. 

Edward, seated on the deck of his aeroplane discovered 
on the horizon a city with huge buildings and towers, ap¬ 
proaching with great speed: Bangkok, Siam’s glorious cap¬ 
ital. Our hero made two addresses on the grounds of the 
Wat Poh, one of the most holy sanctuaries of Buddhism, 
where an enormous gilded Buddha, stretched on a bed of 
lotus flowers, receives the homage of innumerable faithful 
Siamese. The soles of his feet, of themselves a stupendous 
monument, are covered with sixty-four hieroglyphical signs, 
symbols of Nature’s mysteries. 

He walked a long time with reverence in the holy temple- 
grounds of Wat Tscheng, situated at the other side of the 
river. The building is a slender tower adorned with China 


120 


The Birth of Humanity 


of the best quality, mosaics and precious stones. At a dis¬ 
tance, it seems a glorious column of multi-colored incense 
going up to the Most High. 

In the palace grounds, our hero saw the richest temple of 
Siam, containing a large statue of Buddha, whose head is 
carved in a single emerald. 

In the meantime, Sura walked in the ruins of Ayuthia, 
Siam’s former capital, whose grounds, given back to nature, 
are covered with a thick wild vegetation. A gigantic muti¬ 
lated statue of the great Buddha dominates all these glories 
of olden times, when the great founder of the Buddhistic 
faith was sincerely worshiped by enthusiastic crowds. His 
face shows a mingling of the most exquisite moral qualities 
a human being can possess. 

Sura stood a long time in front of the statue thinking of 
past centuries when he and the Buddha worked together for 
the salvation of the human race. 

Some days later, the airship sailed to the Northwest in 
order to reach Mandalay, Burma’s ancient capital. She tra¬ 
versed the whole country, following, first, the banks of the 
river Menam, at present full of fertilizing slime, so useful 
to rice-culture, and reached, afterward, the river Salwin. 
Seen from the aeroplane it seemed a blue dragon, crawling 
through Burma’s fertile fields, and presently accompanied by 
a yellow dragon—the river Irawadi, which escorted our 
hero to Mandalay. 

Edward, being sent to Bhamo in a smaller airship, fol¬ 
lowed the river Irawadi, flowing through a beautiful land¬ 
scape. He made an address at Bhamo to an enthusiastic 
crowd, which loved to hear the glories of their religion 
celebrated by a white man. 

Sura and his disciples, seated on Mandalay Hill, ad¬ 
mired the immense standing Buddha, the Master of Mercy, 


Sura's Glorification 


121 


who stretched his right hand toward the city and to the 
ancient palace, in a gesture of benediction. There Sura 
preached one of his most famous sermons. 

He spoke for hours about the Buddhistic and Hindu 
scriptures, explaining their occasionally obscure meaning, 
showing which verses have been misinterpreted and which 
do not correspond with the original, inspiring his auditors 
with a new love and a new understanding of their religion. 
When the crowd descended the hill, after having been so 
close to the Master, they felt regenerated and guided to a 
great future of love, kindness and knowledge. 

Bicker stayed a week at Tattaniapura (Mandalay), 
where he visited the Arakan Pagoda, the second largest of 
Burma, a splendid edifice consecrated to Buddha, whose 
bronze statue sits there lost in deep meditation like a rock 
in the ocean, unshaken even by the most powerful waves. 
His doctrine resists and will always resist the march of 
time. 

Edward stood a long time in the temple grounds in 
front of a bronze elephant with three heads. And he mused 
on the hidden meaning of this symbol; he took away the 
vision soon to be elucidated by his meditations. 

Some days later, seated on the deck of his aeroplane, he 
again sailed above the river Irawadi, on his way to Burma’s 
capital. At Sale he was allowed to visit the immense statue 
of the Master Buddha, seated under a huge roof, near the 
river. Next day our hero passed Pegu with its gigantic 
lying statue, and at sunset a glorious object appeared on 
the horizon: a golden tower, arising from the center of 
a large city—the Shwe-Dragon Pagoda of Rangoon. 

The Pagoda, containing eight hairs of Buddha’s head, 
is one of the chief Buddhist sanctuaries in the world. In 
the center of the temple grounds rises a tall, slender 


122 


The Birth of Humanity 


gilded tower, crowned with thousands of diamonds, rubies 
and emeralds. Every pious Burmese being allowed to build 
a small sanctuary on the immense platform of the Pagoda 
and being free to choose his own style, the numerous build¬ 
ings, brought into existence there during the past centuries, 
make a confused impression. One fancies seeing an exhi¬ 
bition of golden temples, collected by all Buddhistic na¬ 
tions in the world to honor the great master’s memory. 

The Burmese think of this Pagoda as adorned with a 
tiger, because, long years ago, a tiger was found on the 
golden tower, a huge monster that retired without doing 
any harm to anybody, and whose good behaviour was re¬ 
warded by the building of a sanctuary on the ground. 

While Edward was lecturing in the neighborhood, Sura 
delivered one of his sacred sermons in the temple grounds, 
and was listened to by a big crowd which covered even the 
roofs of the buildings. 

The Master spoke of Buddha’s life, of the future of the 
human race, which was destined to merge into God in or¬ 
der to increase His glory and to participate in the evolution 
of the universe, a sacrifice so great that nobody is as yet 
able to understand it; merge into God without claiming any 
other compensation; disappear in Him in spirit, soul and 

consciousness, perhaps forever. 

# * # 

The aeroplane continued its path to the south, and Ed¬ 
ward, seated on the deck with the captain, admired the 
Malay Peninsula; the Kra Isthmus, the lovely town of 
Penang with its tropical vegetation and interesting Chinese 
temple, containing a Buddha of universal beauty and its 
splendid botanical gardens, and Singapore situated on its 
island like a toy fallen into a green park. 

The beautiful island of Sumatra was now soon reached. 


Sura's Glorification 


123 


Large, almost, as a continent, it is covered with volcanoes 
and luxurious vegetation. Bicker stayed some days at Fort 
de Kock, from where he made wandering excursions to the 
lakes and canyons. He admired, above all, the Lake of Man- 
inju, set between its high green banks like a mirror fallen 
in a precipice. 

The aeroplane followed the beautiful mountain range, 
running to the south, reached the Sunda-Strait and soon flew 
above the wonderland of Bantam, Java’s most western 
province. 

Java is the most beautiful country in the world. At 
what other place do you find the numerous volcanoes, over¬ 
grown to the top with plants, carefully kept in hothouses in 
other countries, and here growing into large trees? Where 
can be found such numerous rice-fields, such millions of in¬ 
habitants in a like area, such variegated seashores, such 
unique botanical gardens, such vivid ruins of former civili¬ 
zations, and such unimaginable fertility? 

Edward was sent on an elaborate lecturing-tour cover¬ 
ing the whole island. He made four addresses at Batavia, 
the capital, tw T o at Buitenzorg, where he was the guest of 
the Governor-General whom he had known so well in Hol¬ 
land when both were members of the Chamber of Depu¬ 
ties. They passed long hours in the Botanical Gardens, the 
most beautiful in the world, where the trees and plants of 
all tropical climates fraternize, and are favored with an 
increased strength by the fertility of the soil and the moist¬ 
ness of the atmosphere. 

A small aeroplane came to fetch our hero and bring him 
to Garut, the center of one of the greatest scenic parts of the 
island, where he studied the interesting volcanic phenomena. 

He passed a long time at Tosari’s sanitarium, situated 
high in the hills, and made interesting trips into the Tengger 


124 


The Birth of Humanity 


Mountains: to the volcano Bromo, ever active, located in a 
place, absolutely like the craters we see on the surface of the 
moon, when we look through a telescope. 

He was the guest of the Emperor of Surakarta and of 
the Sultan of Djokjokarta, where he studied the interesting 
customs of those courts and enjoyed the dances of the 
princesses, the only dances in the world where the most 
perfect beauty is combined with the most sublime purity. 

Sura’s followers prepared the place where the Master 
should speak—the Borobudur, a Buddhist temple and one of 
the wonders of the world. 

The builder has decorated a hill with a huge stone coat 
and adorned it with numberless beautiful bas-reliefs, illus¬ 
trating Buddha’s life. Several galleries lead along the re¬ 
liefs, accessible through marvelously carved gates. Hun¬ 
dreds of stone Buddhas are seated in all parts of the build¬ 
ing, all looking with dreamy eyes at Java’s Paradise, as this 
part of the country is called. 

No more beautiful landscape is easily to be imagined 
than that where the temple has been built, the sacred place 
where millions of Javanese worshiped the divine, before 
the Mohammedan faith inundated the country. Nature has 
collected her most glorious gifts roundabout the place where 
Buddha’s life is shown as an example to all those who wish 
to draw nearer to God. 

An art of magic seems to emanate from the surround¬ 
ings of the Borobudur, coming from the top of the ever green 
volcanoes and from the gleaming leaves of the cocoanut trees, 
while the murmur of brooks adds a soft melody to the rus¬ 
tling of the gigantic fig trees and the loud chanting of the 
insects. 

When Sura arrived, draped in his splendid robes, he was 
led along the galleries, where he inspected with great rev- 


Sura's Glorification 


125 


erence the images of “his brother Buddha,” lingering a long 
time near some of them, as if he remembered having at¬ 
tended the events illustrated, and to have shared the great 
Indian s work. When he stood on the top of the building 
lighted by the first beams of the rising sun, he seemed God’s 
angel, arrived from heaven to bring divine wisdom to hu¬ 
mans. 

Then he went down to the first gallery and began his 
sermon: 

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, if ye do not found your 
lives on righteousness and peace, ye will never see God. If 
ye love not equally all your fellow creatures, ye follow not 
my commandments. Sincere kindness to all beings is the 
secret of all progress.” 

He spoke these words at the beginning of all his 
sermons. Each of his words was heard by all persons pres¬ 
ent. His sonorous voice sounded clear as clarion tones in 
the brightness of the morning hour and was accentuated by 
the sacred silence of the crowd. 

Then he bowed his head in prayer and the audience 
heard him say: 

“My Heavenly Father, Thou who thronest in all parts of 
the universe, Thou, in whom we all live and have our being, 
I pray Thee, let me be a channel through which Thy in¬ 
fluence descends upon this congregation. Let my word be 
Thy word; let my blessing be Thy blessing. Let their 
minds as well as their hearts be open to Thy will, and they 
shall be uplifted to Thee. Give me the power to bring 
them all to Thy feet. 

“Let them understand the great law of sacrifice which 
is the closest communication with Thee: the law that 
claims the sacrifice of their whole being to Thee.” 

The prayer ended in a whisper which was scarcely heard 
by the congregation. 


126 


The Birth of Humanity 


Then he resumed his address: 

“Man does not realize his relation to God and His uni¬ 
verse, because the world is full of unrighteousness and sin. 

“Nothing useless has been created. All human beings 
are needed; creation could not exist in all its fulness if one 
creature was to be annihilated. All have the same worth. 
There is a difference in growth but not in worth. 

“Creation is one. Each being influences the whole 
creation. 

“If one drop of the ocean is colored by some human 
hand, the whole sea assumes another color, though the 
human eye be unable to perceive it. If one man behaves 
wrongly, God and His universe lose a part of their glory; if 
one man behaves well, he adds some lustre to God’s shining 
face. 

“The reason why so many people misbehave is that they 
do not know God and His universe; if they did, the dia¬ 
mond age would be near; they would abstain from evil 
and live a pure life in order to add some purity to the 
world’s purity.” 

The orator was silent for some moments. The cloud 
which covered the sun was withdrawn and Sura’s splendid 
figure glowed like a column of fire. 

Then he opened his mouth and said: 

“Man is a high order of being in creation. Ye are gods. 

“All illnesses originate from lack of understanding of 
this great truth, from lack of faith, from lack of self-knowl¬ 
edge. Say to thyself: ‘I am a god,’ and thou wilt be cured; 
a god cannot be ill.” 

And miracles were produced. A blind man from birth, 
saw, and two lame women took up their beds and walked. 

Sura was now in the midst of the crowd speaking to the 
invalids: 


Sura's Glorification 


127 


‘‘Have faith; thou art a god.” 

And many of them were cured. 

“Realize your own greatness, my beloved; your body is 
your property , not your self ; command it to be healthy and 
it will be healthy.” 

And lepers were cleansed and lunatics healed. 

Sura’s mighty personality was irresistible. It was im¬ 
possible for the lame not to walk when Sura’s clear voice 
commanded: 

“Stand up. Thou art a god. Have faith in thyself. 
A god cannot be ill. Have faith in reality. Be conscious 
of thy power. Thou art great and mighty. I’ll teach thee 
thy worth.” 

He stimulated the people’s imagination and caused it to 
work with sufficient strength to give them health. 

If they succeeded in getting their hearts in tune with his 
heart, they were instantly cured. 

He never touched the patients but looked at them and 
spoke to them. 

Not all could be cured, because some of them had no 
faith; the hearts of others were still closed to Sura since 
they were misled by Asura, and they could not get rid of his 
influence. The thought of others was so strongly attached 
to their illnesses that Sura’s words could not penetrate into 
their souls. They were unable to realize their own great¬ 
ness. 

And he spoke again: 

“Man can only be useful to God if his body is healthy. 
The body is a wonderful vehicle of man. All cells co¬ 
operate to maintain the body in healthy condition; wounds 
are healed and splinters are driven out. There is always 
harmony between the cells, co-operation, love. If one part 
of the brain is destroyed the other part enters into the task 


128 


The Birth of Humanity 


of its mate and performs a double one. All cells collaborate 
to serve the indwelling man. 

“Take as an example this peaceful work, my beloved. 
Let there be harmony between human beings, good social 
conditions, charity, love and co-operation. Then humanity 
will be born, God’s glorious vehicle. The more oneness be¬ 
tween the humans, the more they will be useful to God. 
The cells of thy body adore thee, the indwelling being. 
Man seems to them of an unutterable holiness. 

“So must man adore God, sacrifice himself to God, dis¬ 
appear into God. 

“When all humans fully realize this, future humanity 
will be full-grown. 

“Sacrifice yourself to God. Sacrifice is the foundation 
of all things.” 

And Sura walked again to the temple and ascended the 
first gallery, then others. The eyes of the astonished public 
followed the tall, yellow-violet figure passing before Bud¬ 
dha’s pictures. 

Then Sura’s clarion voice was again heard: 

“Wisdom will teach you the truth. There is no truth 
without knowledge. 

“Force will strengthen the wisdom and realize it in the 
world. There can be no deed without strength. 

“In beauty both culminate. Beauty is the keystone of 
the arch. In beauty lies perfection. 

“There is still one stone higher: the crown of the key¬ 
stone, reserved for full-grown humanity.” 

Sura extended his hand in blessing toward the crowd 
and said: 

“Now go in peace.” 

All obeyed and Sura was soon left alone with his dis¬ 
ciples. He sent most of them down to his aeroplane and 


Sura's Glorification 


129 


detained only three of them: the Hindu Brother, a clergy¬ 
man of the church of England, and a Mohammedan. He 
bade them wait for him at a short distance. 

Sura walked to the top of the temple, expecting a great 
event. Suddenly he was transfigured before his disciples, 
and his face shone like the sun, and his raiment was as 
white as a pure light. 

And, behold, there appeared unto them two figures, one at 
the right hand of Sura, and one at the left. One was 
Buddha, Sura’s “beloved brother,” a figure incarnating power 
and force. He seemed a huge statue and his mighty brow 
revealed a divine will-power. 

The other was Melchisedec, King of Salem. He ap¬ 
peared as a sixteen-year-old boy, the same figure he had as¬ 
sumed at his first appearance on earth. It seemed that all 
the beauties of the universe were united in him. Sura was 
Wisdom, Buddha, Force; Melchisedec, Beauty. 

Sura bowed to the latter as a man bows to his elder 
brother—the keystone of the arch. 

And the two visitors talked with Sura. 

A bright cloud overspread them, and, behold, a voice out 
of the cloud said: 

“This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased; 
hear ye him.” 

It was the voice of the Silent, the Crown of the key¬ 
stone of the arch. 

And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces 
and were afraid. 

And Sura came and touched them and said: 

“Arise and be not afraid.” And when they had lifted up 
their eyes, they saw no man, but Sura. 

The next day, the Master walked in the Borobudur, ac¬ 
companied by a crowd of disciples, explaining the life of 


130 


The Birth of Humanity 


Buddha, his beloved “Brother.” He expounded his glo¬ 
rious life of sacrifice and love. Buddha sacrificed all he 
loved and possessed to reach union with God: the supreme 
future of mankind. 

One of the disciples said: 

“Master Sura speaks of many of his predecessors, but 
seldom mentions Christ. May I ask the reason?” 

Sura smiled and the whole temple seemed illuminated. 
He said: 

“My relations with Him are too close to allow me to ex¬ 
plain them. 

“I agree with every word He has spoken in the blessed 
land of Palestine and I consider myself as His successor on 
earth. 

“My task is to build upon the foundations laid down by 
him; my task is to teach the race, now many centuries 
older.” 

Another disciple asked: 

“Dost thou not think that Jesus is the noblest Being who 
ever lived on earth?” 

“Honor and love Him,” was the answer, “and thou wilt 
hasten the birth of humanity.” 

And he spoke again to the crowd: 

“A prisoner was liberated and came back into the vil¬ 
lage, where he was born. He was hungry and exhausted 
because he was poor and had walked the whole day. He 
knocked at his brother’s door and asked for shelter and food. 
‘Get thee gone, malefactor!’ said his brother and closed his 
door. 

“The liberated prisoner crawled painfully to the dwell¬ 
ing of his best friend and asked for food and shelter. But 
his friend refused him admittance. 

“The prisoner lay a long time on the street incapable of 


Sura's Glorification 


131 


going farther. Some hours later he reached the home of his 
second-best friend and asked for shelter and food. But this 
friend loosed his dogs on him and he was badly bitten. 

“The night was coming and, exhausted, near to death, 
he knocked at the first door he discovered and asked for 
food and shelter. The man who opened the door was his 
worst enemy, but he said: 

“Come into my house, my brother, I will feed thee and 
wash thy wounds. Lo, thou art guilty no more!” 

* * * * 

Edward Bicker traveled on horseback in Java’s most 
beautiful mountains, going to the Hindu sanctuaries of the 
Dieng, accompanied by his chauffeur. He had seen most 
countries of the world, but this was the most beautiful: 
“Java’s Paradise.” 

The previous day his road had led him between two 
huge volcanoes—Sindoro and Sumbing—whose green flanks 
seemingly rose to the sky. Now he was in the woods, ac¬ 
companied by bubbling brooks. He soon reached the beau¬ 
tiful lake Mendjer, whose emerald transparency lay at the 
foot of a high mountain, mirroring its splendid vegetation, 
from top to bottom. Some wild monkeys showed their shy 
faces through the foliage; but attracted by the two travelers, 
they approached so close that Edward could nearly touch 
them. 

“It seems that they know us,” said the chauffeur. 

“How can that be?” asked Bicker. 

“They feel by instinct that we will not harm them. I 
will show you how to tame them.” 

He whistled in a certain way and soon four of them 
fell on the saddles of the tourists. Edward and the chauf¬ 
feur took them in their arms and stroked them. At another 


132 


The Birth of Humanity 


place, the chauffeur whistled again and two immense black 
monkeys fell on each horse. 

“But this is too much of a good thing,” said Edward 
laughing. 

“Yes,” said the chauffeur, taking away Bicker’s mon¬ 
keys, “you are right. If this goes on, all the apes of the 
country will be upon us. But I will show you other animals.” 

Then he whistled in a different way and two snakes ap¬ 
proached, long flexible animals that tried to reach our 
hero’s hand. 

Then the chauffeur attracted diverse wild animals, birds, 
boars and even a tiger, all of which approached without fear. 

The soene became wilder and wilder. The sides of the 
mountains, covered with trees and orchids, became as steep as 
walls. 

Suddenly they turned aside and an immense country re¬ 
vealed itself to our travelers: the Dieng, one of the largest 
craters in the world. Villages and hotels have been built at 
the remarkable place, and the old Hindus have erected their 
temples there. Though located near the equator, the days 
are cool on this blessed spot and the nights cold. Many in¬ 
valids, weakened by the exhausting climate of the seacoasts, 
come here to be cured and restored to youth. 

At sunset, an indescribable quietness descends on this mar¬ 
velous country. 

Edward walked alone, admiring the heavy columns of 
steam floating everywhere in the air like immense clouds of 
incense going up to the Most High. 

He reached a place where heavy outbursts of steam were 
thrown into the air with a deafening noise. Some moments 
later, he reached a quiet lake where a boy fished by means of 
a simple stick. Each time he dipped his little pole into the 
water the fish appeared in great numbers. 


Sura's Glorification 


133 


“How is this possible?” exclaimed our hero. “May I 
try it myself? Lend me your stick.” 

But as soon as he dipped the stick into the water, all the 
fish fled as if frightened, and the boy’s laugh echoed in the 
mountain. 

As soon as the boy dipped his stick into the water, the 
fish again came; but as soon as Bicker tried to do the same, 
they fled. 

“What is the reason?” asked Edward. 

“I don’t know, sir,” laughed the boy. “I think that 
they like me better than you. 

“I could show you many interesting things, if you con¬ 
sented to take a trip in my aeroplane.” 

“I cannot accept your kind invitation, my boy. I am 
engaged with a lecturing tour. 

“Don’t mind your lectures,” said the boy, taking Ed¬ 
ward’s arm. “I am fond of you and should be happy to do 
you a pleasure.” 

“Much obliged to you, my boy, but I have no time for 
trips.” 

“You do not know, sir, how splendid this country is. I 
study it in all its details and discover many still unknown 
marvels. Look here. This place is called, ‘Valley of the 
Dead.’ ” 

And Bicker saw, to his astonishment and terror, a crowd 
of human forms floating on the breeze—young and old, male 
and female. All looked sad, and bowed to the boy. 

“Come with me in my aeroplane, sir, and you will see 
still more marvelous things.” 

Edward looked at the boy with haggard eyes. 

Then he exclaimed: 

“You are Asura!” 


134 


The Birth of Humanity 


“I am Emmanuel, sir. I tried many times to approach 
you, but you will not be my friend.” 

“I cannot and I will not.” 

“You do not know, sir, how strong my will-power can 
be on certain persons. Do you see that sailor there in the 
distance ?” 

“Yes, I do.” 

“I can direct his gestures from here. He will obey me. 
You say what he has to do, and I will force him to do so by 
my thought alone.” 

“Let him sit down,” said Edward. 

The sailor obeyed. 

“Let him stretch his hands into the air, then touch the 
ground with his hands.” 

The sailor did. 

“Let him jump.” 

The sailor did. 

“You see, sir, how I treat my men. They are my 
slaves.” 

Suddenly the boy laughed loud, saying: 

“That sailor is your son, Mr. Bicker.” 

Edward grew pale and turned to Asura. 

But he as well as the sailor had disappeared. 


Chapter VII 


asura's defeat 

We find Emmanuel on the deck of his aeroplane, talking 
with a girl, whom he guides to Australia. An endless series 
of islands belonging to the colonies of the Netherlands passed 
underneath the ship, like an emerald necklace on a ground 
of turquoise. Here and there a column of smoke revealed 
the presence of a volcano. Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa and 
many other large islands passed beneath the eyes of the two 
travelers. 

The girl was an Austrian lady who, having met Asura in 
Java, was under the charm of his attractive personality. 
She could not cease looking at his ideal face and his grace¬ 
ful demeanor; each of his gestures seemed perfect beauty. 

Emmanuel was in a sad mood and looked into the dis¬ 
tance where the sea met the clouds. 

“My fate is a cheerless one,” said he with a sigh, “be¬ 
cause I am deprived of all real joy. I may have no friends; 
I have no relatives. All exquisite feelings are strange to me. 
Destiny has caught me in its iron grip and will never re¬ 
lease me.” 

“But why do you not marry, sir?” asked the girl. “A 
loving wife would be the joy of your life.” 

“Impossible, my dear girl, impossible. As soon as I am 
in love, I lose all my power. Celibacy is the keynote of my 
life.” 

“I do not understand.” 

“You know that Samson’s unusual strength depended 
upon his long hair. As soon as Delilah had cut it off, he 
was as powerless as a child. 


136 


The Birth of Humanity 


“As soon as I lose the smallest part of my will-power, I 
am lost. Everyone who depends upon me must be absolutely 
subject to my will. If one frees himself from his obedience 
to me, I lose them all and they will kill me. 

“You noticed the attitude of my crew—all young men 
who have had a good education. They are like automatons 
in my hands. There is not one of them who receives a 
penny, not even the captain. All are my slaves.” 

The girl looked alarmed. 

“I need them all in my work, and I subjected them to my 
will as they are. If I allowed a human being to have any 
influence over me, I should lose all control of my crew. 

“And that would be the disastrous consequence of my 
marriage; a woman may not be treated like a slave. The 
husband has sometimes to yield to his wife’s wishes. As 
soon as I showed such a weakness, my crew would revolt 
and kill me.” 

“Then you are a magician?” 

“Perhaps I am, and worse than that.” 

The girl looked more alarmed. But she saw tears in 
Asura’s eyes. 

Then he smiled and his face was like a sunbeam. 

The girl cried like a child, not knowing why. She felt 
inclined to kneel down in front of Asura’s superhuman 
beauty. But Emmanuel did not allow it. 

He went down into his room and gathered his crew. In 
less than a moment all the men stood before him. 

Asura’s beautiful face was overflowing with an indescrib¬ 
able expression of disgust while he looked at his trembling 
sailors, and his look was cruel and hard. 

“Cowards!” was as usual his first word. 

“You are all stupid. At Java, you behaved like foolish 
schoolboys. You do not know how to influence people. 


Asura's Defeat 


137 


“I saw you speak with, laughing and happy men and 
women, trying to influence them in your stupid way. 

“Wait until they are unhappy. Exert your influence on 
a mother who has lost her child; an inconsolable widower; 
a ruined man—these will be vulnerable to your power. Go 
to invalids and sick persons, to those to whom life is a 
burden, and you will succeed.” 

The sailors listened with trembling lips and aching 
hearts, not knowing what to answer. 

Emmanuel was suddenly lost in thought and remained 
in that condition for more than an hour. When he came 
to himself he shouted: 

“Clear out! Cowards!” 

And the sailors disappeared in a moment. 

When Asura resumed his place on the deck, the girl 
asked: 

“Why are you so cruel to those boys, sir?” 

“I don’t know. I despise them because they serve me.” 

“But you want them in that subjugated condition, you 
say.” 

“I do. But I feel so unhappy. Sometimes I feel in¬ 
clined to humiliate those cowards to gratify my vengeance 
upon them. I know that they are innocent and very un¬ 
happy, that they never wronged me, but I hate them.” 

“And do you feel somewhat relieved after having ill- 
treated those young men?” 

“No; on the contrary, it makes me miserable.” 

“And do you never feel compassion for them?” 

“Never. Compassion is weakness and my power lies in 
sustained strength.” 

The aeroplane reached New Guinea, a Dutch colony, 
where the ship landed at the feet of a huge, snowy mountain- 
range. Asura and the girl took a walk on the fertile soil 


138 


The Birth of Humanity 


of this tropical land and were soon surrounded by a crowd of 
Papuas, brownish-black people with frizzled hair. 

“Now I will give you a performance, my dear girl,” said 
Asura; “but whatever may happen, don’t be frightened; we 
cannot even be touched by these people.” 

The crowd of brown people were soon engaged in a 
frantic dance; men, women and children. The girl had 
never seen human bodies move so quickly and they seemed 
indefatigable. They continually turned around, jumped 
many feet high, fell on their knees and jumped up again, as 
if stung by a viper. The women, usually quiet and sweet, 
like all Malays, behaved like fools, jumping with unusual 
swiftness, throwing away their babies and trampling the 
fruit and the rice they had been carrying. 

The men behaved still more foolishly. They seemed pos¬ 
sessed by demons; they jumped still higher than the women, 
threw their weapons on the soil, trampled them, and many a 
foot was wounded. 

Suddenly they picked up their weapons and assailed 
Asura and the girl. Emmanuel took hold of the swords, 
turned away the arrows and smashed the clubs, fearless, con¬ 
scious of his power and invincibility. With smiling lips, he 
hurled back his black aggressors, throwing them far from 
him. 

“Is it enough?” asked Asura, looking at the girl. “You 
have to command here.” 

“Oh, yes, sir, let it be over. It is terrible!” 

At the same moment, all the Papuas fell to the ground 
and moved no more. 

“Are they dead?” asked the trembling girl. 

“Not at all,” laughed Asura. “I will revive them.” 

And suddenly all the natives sprang to their feet and fled. 

The aeroplane went up in the air, going to the south. 


Asura's Defeat 


139 


The Torres Strait was reached and Asura showed the girl 
the numerous coral reefs near the coast, like high white and 
circular islets. 

“In olden times,” said Asura to the girl, “this passage 
used to be dangerous. Many ships have been wrecked on the 
reefs, but now we pass over the danger.” 

The aeroplane followed the great Barrier Reef east of 
Australia, the largest reef in the world, on whose innumer¬ 
able cliffs the mighty breakers foamed like craters. 

Then the girl was led by Emmanuel into the drawing¬ 
room and he showed her his pictures. The girl was as¬ 
tonished ; each of the pictures showed an endless perspective, 
far beyond any earthly horizon. The spectator looked into 
eternity and boundless space. 

The girl saw a cavern, filled with dragons, and the 
monsters in the background seemed thousands of miles away. 
On another canvas she saw the Heavenly Father seated on 
a throne, surrounded by numberless circles of adoring angels. 
The figure of the Father seemed so far away that a human 
eye could hardly reach it, and at the same time so near that 
it could be touched. Near Him stood some angels of higher 
rank and the girl was astonished to discover Asura’s ideal 
figure very close to the Father’s throne. 

“That is you, Mr. Emmanuel,” said she, “so near to 
God.” 

“My dear girl, this is my home. As soon as my terrible 
pilgrimage is over, I will go up to my Father and resume 
my place near Him. My home! My dear, dear home!” 

And suddenly he threw himself sobbing onto a couch 
and buried his face in his hands. 

At almost the same moment, six sailors burst into the 
room calling Asura the worst sort of names, calling him a 
monster, a coward and a traitor. 


140 


The Birth of Humanity 


But Emmanuel was already on his feet, and his voice 
sounded like a trumpet. 

“Down, cowards! Down on your knees. I will teach 
you obedience.” 

And the young men fell on their knees and disappeared 
without lifting their heads. 

The girl was frightened to death and cried: “What does 
that mean?” 

“Don’t be frightened, my dear girl. Now you see what 
a moment of weakness means to me. My life was even en¬ 
dangered. I saw a knife in two of those boys’ hands. 

“I must not be weak; my task requires force and ruth¬ 
lessness.” 

And he drew a curtain before the heavenly picture say¬ 
ing: 

“Better not look at that picture.” 

Another picture showed the evening sky full of stars, 
which were divided into groups, each forming a lofty figure, 
one being a part of the other. And in the center was a godly 
figure containing them all. 

The last picture exhibited only a blue sky, covered with 
light white clouds, but the cupola seemed so large that it 
might have contained the whole universe and the further the 
spectator retired from the canvas, the larger the cupola seemed 
to grow. 

Asura sat down at the piano and sang. The girl had 
never heard such a beautiful tenor voice. Each note was a 
sound of perfect beauty and the high “C” sounded like 
eternity. The girl called it the angel’s note. 

Another day, she asked: 

“What are your relations to Sura?” 

Emmanuel did not answer directly. After some mo¬ 
ments he said: 


Asura's Defeat 


141 


“I cannot explain this mystery to you, my dear girl. My 
task is to oppose him, to cross all his enterprises, to encourage 
his enemies and to weaken his friends.” 

“I do not understand, sir.” 

“You cannot. It is a natural law that force can only be 
acquired by opposition.” 

“Then )^ou hate Sura?” 

“Hate him! Him! I love him. I should joyfully give 
ten lives of mine to save his. He is my friend, my brother, 
the sharer of my highest ideals.” After some moments he 
added: 

“He is my other self.” And his face wore a divine ex¬ 
pression. 

_ • 

Asura gave performances at Brisbane and Newcastle, and 
then he settled for some time at Sidney. He first directed 
his airship around the bay to show the girl the beauties of 
the place—the country houses, built on the hills and the nu¬ 
merous ships in the bay, which is large enough to contain 
all the fleets of the world. 

At night he made the same trip to show his companion 
the thousands of lights covering the mountains and the water. 

He made an excursion with her to the Blue Mountains, 
covered with eucalyptus trees and peopled with kangaroos 
and variegated parrots. Then he led the girl into the Jen- 
olan caves, where he showed her stalactites more than four¬ 
teen million years old. 

They walked a long time in the Orient Cave where all 
the beauties of these marvelous grottoes are gathered. 

In the River-Cave they embarked in a small boat and 
floated a long time on the dark waters. 

Suddenly a light of unknown origin burst into the place 
as if daylight had opened a way to the cave, and the girl 
discovered to her astonishment a flock of lilliputian human 


142 


The Birth of Humanity 


forms, dancing on the surface of the water; little tiny crea¬ 
tures of perfect beauty, winged like butterflies moving their 
frail limbs with ideal gracefulness. One sprang on the girl’s 
hand and soon she was covered with them. Their voices 
sounded like the humming of flies, but the girl was soon able 
to understand them. 

One said: “My dear girl, you are in danger.” 

Another: “Don’t trust that beautiful boy.” 

A third: “He is a seducer.” 

A fourth: “Flee! Flee!’ 1 ’ 

Asura looked smilingly at the girl and said: 

“Don’t believe those tiny things. They are of no conse¬ 
quence.” 

“No, Mr. Emmanuel. I trust you as my own father, 
and I will follow you till the last day of my life.” 

Emmanuel sighed. 

* * * 

Edward Bicker, the father, traveled in India. He stayed 
two days at Buddhgaya, the place where Buddha attained 
liberation and where a temple of great antiquity marks the 
place of this cosmic event which happened under the bright 
sky of Hindustan. Then he went on to Benares, the holy 
city on the Ganges, where the reader assisted at the descent 
of Asura, the Great Opposer. He made four addresses, at 
all of which he met with great difficulties. Many Hindus 
and Mohammedans showed angry faces, being under the in¬ 
fluence of Asura’s mighty personality. But a great part of 
the audience (all members of the World-Religion Society), 
remained faithful to our hero, distrusting the great actor. 

At Agra, Edward again had to leave his airship to live 
some time in a hotel. 

He often visited the Taj Mahal, which rises in all its 


Asura's Defeat 


143 


peerless beauty on the right bank of the River Jumna, which 
mirrors the snowy outlines of the marvelous building. 

The Taj Mahal, considered by professionals the most 
perfect specimen of architectural art, is a marble monument, 
built in 1630 by the Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his 
favorite queen Arjimand Banu entitled Mumtaz-i-Mahal, the 
“Chosen of the Palace.*’ Afterwards he himself was buried 
at the same place. 

How describe this wonderful monument? “A dream in 
marble,” say the natives. It is a dream-palace, white like 
snow, harmonious like a pure accord, lofty like a divine 
thought. Its outlines are so delicate that one should scarcely 
wonder that the Taj faded before one’s eyes; dissolved into 
a palace of mist. The harmony of the details is the glory of 
the Taj, the perfect proportions. No detail predominates, no 
detail is suppressed. The main cupola towers over the four 
smaller ones like a mother looking down on her children. 
Four minarets surround the building like slender guards, 
forbidding the entrance of the sanctuary to the profane and 
the indifferent. 

The inside contains the sarcophagi of Jahan and the 
“Chosen of the Palace,” surrounded by a screen of white 
marble, carved “ajour,” transparent like those fantastic walls 
we traverse without any resistance during our most vivid 
dreams. And the light always weaves new mysteries in the 
sacred place, golden mysteries in the morning, white ones at 
noon, red mysteries at sunset and enigmatic mysteries, when 
the moon throws its nocturnal light into the holy place. 

The tomb of “I timad ud daulah” beyond the river 
Jumna, where the Persian Ghiyas Beg is buried, is of the 
most graceful beauty. Likewise built of the purest of mar¬ 
bles, likewise conceived by choice artistic minds, as dream¬ 
like as the larger tomb, it could be called the Taj’s exotic 


144 


The Birth of Humanity 


sister. It lacks the grandeur of Jahan’s last resting place, 
but its lightness is so remarkable that it seems winged. 

Beg’s tomb is an agreeable dream, the Taj is a heroic 
dream. 

Our hero walked a long time in Akbar’s mausoleum at 
Sikandarah, where the noble emperor rests; a worthy mon¬ 
ument to him whose name ought to be, “The Tolerant,” be¬ 
cause his wisdom enabled him to appreciate and protect all 
religious creeds. The main beauty of the place is the 
knowledge that Akbar’s lofty soul pervades it with its pure 
love of the human race and his august wisdom. 

Before leaving this interesting place, the captain sailed 
over the Fort which contains many magnificent Mughal 
buildings: the Moti Masjid, a pearl of beauty, majestic au¬ 
dience-halls and palaces without end. 

The aeroplane was for a long time suspended above the 
Jama Masjid, constructed by the Emperor Shah Jahan; 
splendid sandstone domes over-tower the holy place where 
numberless Mohammedans worship the Divine. 

The airship hovered for hours above Fatepur Sikri, the 
mysterious town, built by Akbar the Tolerant and enjoying 
a very perfect state of preservation. Some parts, on account 
of the superior quality of their materials, even look as if they 
were not 25 years old. The city chances to be in the exact 
condition in which it was used by the great Mughal King 
and his court. 

The splendid city was built in behalf of the Chishty 
Saint Shaikh Salim. Look at the Panch Mahal, a five story 
building with high, open colonnades, look at the “Turkish 
Queen’s House” with its splendid carvings, at the magnifi¬ 
cent Birbal-Palace with its profusion of ornaments. Look at 
the Gate of Victory, a real “Arc de Triomphe,” at the Dar- 
gah Mosque, containing Shaikh Salim’s tomb with its white 


Asura's Defeat 145 

marble lattice-work screens. Look at all the other marvels, 
all made for a saint. 

Who was the saint, for whose pleasure the Emperor Ak- 
bar, the glory of India, produced a marvelous city? No 
historian ever discovered it. 

A saint is more than an Emperor. 

But what is a saint? 

The airship was directed to Delhi, India’s capital, where 
our hero was to make several addresses. He visited the 
places of interest of this city, which was mentioned in the 
Mahabarata, a poem probably written many centuries before 
Christ. The palace in the fort is one of the most splendid 
buildings in the world because of the style and the luxury of 
the materials, its Hall of Public Audience with its famous 
peacock throne (which, however, exists no more as it was 
used by the Emperor Aurangzeb), overflows with its pre¬ 
cious stones, its graceful Hall of Private Audience, its 
glorious Royal Private Apartments and Royal Baths; all 
splendors of past times when the Emperors ruled the coun¬ 
try with an iron hand. In one of the Mosques a Moham¬ 
medan relic was shown our hero: one hair of the Prophet’s 
beard pasted on a small piece of glass; it was red and 
thick like a horsehair. 

Bicker made his first address near the Kutab Minar, 
one of the most famous places in India. 

The members of the World-Religion Society, who had 
organized the lecture, told our hero that the spirit of the 
majority of the inhabitants was against him. Asura had 
given a performance at Delhi and especially the Moham¬ 
medan population was enraptured, as well with Emmanuel’s 
singing as with the pantomime. So beautiful a voice had 
never been heard. All had desired another performance 
and the second had been still more splendid than the first. 


146 


The Birth of Humanity 


The passions had been aroused and there was likely to be 
danger as soon as a lecturer might try to destroy Asura’s 
theories. 

“But it must be done,” said Edward. “I am here to 
fight the Great Opposer and prepare Sura’s advent.” 

“But your life will be endangered.” 

“Let it be so; I have always known that. My life 
belongs no more to myself, but to the Master.” 

He reached the Kutab Minar, the tower of victory, the 
noble monument which dominates its surroundings like a 
gigantic sentinel. Built of red sandstone and adorned with 
the most beautiful carvings, it symbolizes the joy of the 
victors after battle. 

The sun, going down to the horizon, set it ablaze, drap¬ 
ing it in a royal purple mantle, the ample folds of which 
vibrated under the outpourings of the last sunbeams. 

The Kutab Minar Enclosure was filled with a variegated 
crowd, nearly all men, Hindus and Mohammedans with a 
few Europeans. The Mohammedan fezes and turbans were 
in the majority, and the black tassels of the red head-dresses 
waved like little flags on the heads of their restless wearers. 
All the Mussulmen were engaged in animated discussions, 
some of them with clenched fists, others smiling, others shak¬ 
ing their heads. The Hindus with their long white robes, 
their turbans and black beards had a more dignified mien. 
The Christians looked angry. 

Edward delivered, first, a short address on religion which 
met with a very responsive audience. His ideas were so 
sound and logical, so full of common sense and his words 
chosen with so much care and good taste that all his hear¬ 
ers were impressed in his favor. 

He explained how religion offered knowledge and 


ERRATA 

The word “punish” which occurs 
in the tenth line from the bottom 
of page 147, should be read “pub¬ 
lish.” 









Asura's Defeat 


147 


showed at the same time the way to bring it into practice: 
how to behave in accordance with it. Religion could 
partly be called physics in a higher meaning of the word, a 
continuation of the common physics, reaching into the higher 
worlds. When the common physics have spoken their last 
word, religion shows the way to higher wisdom. 

“Religion is progress. 

“Common physics constitute a difficult science, religion a 
still more difficult one. Most people do not realize it be¬ 
cause they are satisfied with the outside of religion, but 
the privileged ones whose minds are able to attain the grand 
religious wisdom, to fathom the immense depths of that 
glorious knowledge, discover the divine purpose and feel 
nearer to God. 

“Religion is an inexhaustible source of knowledge lead¬ 
ing man to the divine. The deepest mysteries of nature are 
revealed in religion to those who know how to discover 
them, and this knowledge is available to every earnest stu¬ 
dent. Religion is the most beautiful morality and the most 
perfect knowledge. 

“But religion has sometimes to be completed and this is 
the reason why messengers of the Most High are sent to the 
earth to punish broader knowledge regarding the uni¬ 
verse; they are founders of the world-religions and come to 
show the path to the sacred mysteries. 

“This time a great teacher is sent, the great ruler of all 
religions whose task it is to forward the brotherhood of 
religions. 

“This blessed teacher is ‘Sura the Divine.’ ” 

Then he spoke of a false teacher who had been traveling 
in Asia and called himself Emmanuel. This man had tried 
to mislead the spirits. And he demonstrated how Asura’s 


148 


The Birth of Humanity 


philosophy was very shallow, and played upon the ignorance 
of the public, dazzling the poor in mind by spectacular per¬ 
formances, all based on delusion. 

These words had scarcely left his lips, when two Mo¬ 
hammedans appeared with knives in their hands crying: 

“Let’s kill the rash person who dares speak ill of our 
revered Master, Emmanuel.” 

These words seemed a sign of revolt. Hundreds of Mo¬ 
hammedans and Hindus rushed toward the platform, where 
our hero was speaking. 

But Bicker was drawn behind a bush by his chauffeur, 
who draped long white robes on his master’s shoulders and 
covered his head with an ample turban; then both quietly 
entered the Mosque and hid themselves behind the famous 
Iron Pillar, till the crowd had gone. Some moments later, 
considering themselves safe, they walked to the Kutab Minar 
in an effort to leave the grounds. 

But Edward was discovered by a Mohammedan, in spite 
of his disguise, and at the man’s repeated calls, hundreds of 
Indians arrived, running from all sides. 

The chauffeur, seeing the danger, pushed our hero into 
the tower of the Kutab Minar and bolted the iron doors 
from within. They were safe for some time. 

They soon heard heavy knocks on the doors. 

“What must we do?” asked Edward of the chauffeur. 
“If we stay here, we will be killed at the foot of the stair¬ 
case and if we go up to the top of the tower they will fol¬ 
low us and hurl us down.” 

“I advise you to go up to the top,” said the chauffeur in 
his usual calm way. “I will try to barricade the stairs 
which fortunately are very narrow and we will await the 
coming of day at the top. They will not succeed in reach¬ 
ing us so soon.” 


Asura's Defeat 


149 


So they did. 

The blows on the iron doors became heavier and heav¬ 
ier. Probably the natives were using strong wooden poles. 

The chauffeur found great quantities of wood, scattered 
in all parts of the building; he accumulated it on the stairs 
and soon more than twenty feet of wood obstructed the steps. 
Then Edward and his companion sat down at the top of 
the tower. 

Thousands of natives surrounded it and the noise reach¬ 
ing the captives’ ears became nearly deafening. 

The chauffeur being a Hindu understood the language 
and looked alarmed. 

“They threaten you with a thousand deaths,” said he, 
“and if we are not saved in an hour or two, we will be 
killed, I fear.” 

“We? You mean me. They do not know you.” 

“No, but they will understand that I brought you here.” 

Bicker discovered a hole near the top of the tower. 

“Go into that hole, my friend, and I will close it with 
wood. They will think that I am here alone and you can 
escape tomorrow when all is over.” 

The chauffeur smiled and said: 

“That is not my way of taking care of my friends, sir. 
If you must die, we will die together.” 

Some moments later, the iron doors gave way and the 
crowd stormed the stairs, but stood before the barricade, 
swearing and shouting. 

They instantly began to demolish the pile of wood, and 
Bicker soon saw the bearded faces of the Mohammedans 
through the wooden poles obstructing the staircase. 

The chauffeur looked toward the horizon and said: 

“It can be that we are saved.” 

“How?” 


150 


The Birth of Humanity 


“Look, our ship approaches at full speed. They know 
where we are. A message has probably been carried by one 
of our scouts.” 

In fact a huge shape was to be seen flying in the air. It 
stopped, and a raft was lowered. Then the aeroplane neared 
the tower very slowly. Bicker and the chauffeur were hoisted 
in and the airship went off. 

“Just in time,” said the captain, shaking hands with our 
hero. 

“Thank you, captain. You are always there to save 
my life.” 

“We still need you for a long time, Mr. Bicker. You 
are a precious treasure.” And he laughed his kindly laugh. 

Some days later, we find our hero sailing to Jaipur, the 
“city of the eternal sunset.” Before reaching this town 
the aeroplane flew a long time above Amber, the ancient 
capital of Jaipur. The palace, mirroring itself in the lake, 
seemed a little town of brilliant architecture. A long file 
of elephants slowly climbed the hills, carrying tourists to 
this beautiful place. 

The captain took a walk with his passenger through the 
city of Jaipur, showing him the interesting street-life, where 
all races mingle and elephants and camels walk in the streets 
like dogs. Nearly all the buildings are made of rose-colored 
stones and look as if they were lighted by the sunset. One 
of the principal buildings is the Hall of the Winds, a huge 
building with windows so small that one wonders how peo¬ 
ple can live in such dark rooms. 

At Jaipur, our hero met with an extraordinary experi¬ 
ence in being invited to vvie in eloquence with Asura before 
the same audience. Both were going to speak, and the pub¬ 
lic would decide who had borne off the prize. 

Bicker spoke first; he made the impression of a serious, 


Asura's Defeat 


151 


honest and clever man and he gained the sympathy of his 
audience in less than an hour. 

He spoke of “Unity the only Way to Progress.” Man¬ 
kind in order to approach God, had to melt together in a 
spiritual unity. Only then would it be profitable to God. 
All institutions bringing people together were useful to the 
purpose: a happy home-life, all solid friendships, brother¬ 
hoods, all occasions where hearts beat together in pure love 
and generosity. In all gatherings where earnest subjects 
are listened to and discussed, a useful influence goes up to 
the Most High. Internationality was the great watchword 
of the future. 

His words sounded so noble and sincere, so simple, that 
all listened with strained attention and eagerness. The 
hearts of all the audience went out to the eloquent speaker, 
who touched strings of their souls, which had been mute up 
to this moment. 

When he sat down, the audience felt uplifted and some¬ 
what nobler than before. 

Then Asura appeared in all his glory and beauty, draped 
in his long, ample green robes. He had already won his 
auditors before he opened his mouth. And as soon as he 
spoke, his charm was irresistible. His pure and melodious 
voice brought tears to the women’s eyes. 

He said that the preceding orator had defended a false 
thesis; why had he spoken on unity, while all things in the 
universe were founded on diversity? Decentralization was 
the future’s password. The orator had recommended in¬ 
ternationality. Why? The most splendid heroic deeds from 
the most ancient times up to this moment had been performed 
for love of the fatherland. 

“There can be no heroism without patriotism. Don’t 
we see a state divided into provinces, a province divided into 


152 


The Birth of Humanity 


cities and villages? The smaller the unity, the better the 
inhabitants are ruled.” 

He cited a series of examples to prove that the most ideal 
communities were the smallest ones. 

“Let the inhabitants of a town cling together and mingle 
as little as possible with those of other towns and all will be 
right. 

“Let there be close circles of friends who know each 
other well and let no stranger be admitted there. 

“Let there be home-life, a close intimacy between the 
parents and the children, where intruders are expelled. 

“The world is full of religions and societies, whose mem¬ 
bers are not harmonious, whose opinions are so different that 
they can hardly share the same work. Why do they not 
dissolve their societies and congregations, instead of leaving 
them intact and looking at each other with angry eyes? 

“If there is any difference of opinion, better decentralize 
the religion or the society than to seek a reconciliation that 
can never be sincere.” 

He told of his political endeavors in Asia where, under 
his auspices, a state had been divided into four parts and 
where peace had reigned since that moment. 

“I know,” said the captain of Edward’s ship, who was 
present, “but since that time the murders in the separate 
parts of the country have quadrupled and the morality is 
worse than ever.” 

“I did not know it,” said Emmanuel with one of his kind 
smiles. “But the inhabitants are much happier.” 

“They are not,” replied the captain. “Divorces are the 
order of the day.” 

“Divorces are generally happy unravelments of domestic 
tragedies,” said Asura. 


Asura's Defeat 


153 


For these words he was rewarded with much applause 
and the captain drew only angry looks. 

Asura’s earth-life was a peculiar one. He endeavored 
to divide where Sura strove to unite. 

Emmanuel was thinking: “Divide et impera.” 

And Sura: “Unite and love.” 

Asura was opposed to all good and noble endeavors. In 
his clubs he had selected some friends, but he hated to be¬ 
come acquainted with other people. His own friends flat¬ 
tered him so much and felt so honored to be treated as 
equals by the great artist that they did not wish to admit 
intruders at all. 

The reader will be astonished to hear that a being so 
much elevated above the human race, whose home was so 
near the sublime, could stay in clubs and other worldly 
circles; but, each time he lived in a human body, he sacri¬ 
ficed himself absolutely to his task, visiting even places less 
enjoyable than clubs, and even conversing with people whom 
he despised, if this behavior was favorable to his purposes. 

At this moment, he had to crush Sura’s friend and aid. 
If he succeeded in doing so, then the Master’s work would 
be crossed. 

The defeat of a simple mortal like Bicker was an easy 
task; gifted with so many privileges and so much power, 
Asura had only to speak to conquer. And he spoke with so 
much spirit and brilliancy that the whole audience was in 
raptures 

“The first speaker is a sad man,” said he with his melo¬ 
dious, sparkling voice. “He spoke only of the duties we 
have to fulfil. Surely, we all have duties, but fortunately 
life does not ask duties alone; it offers joy and beauty at the 
same time. Life is full of beauty. 


154 


The Birth of Humanity 


“Look at the splendors of nature, admire the magnitude 
of the eternal snow-fields of the Himalayas and other scenery 
blessed by the gods. Look at the bright vegetation covering 
the earth with an eternal garment of beauty; look at the 
graceful outlines of the palm-trees and of your sacred Banyan 
tree. Look at the flowers of all kinds and all colors, the 
culmination of beauty in plant-life: the bearers of love. The 
flower is the holy matrimony of the plant, and it manifests 
itself in the most gorgeous effusion of tinges and scents, com¬ 
pelling mortals to admire, and rendering their lives more 
beautiful. 

“Look at the beauty of the human body, the temple of 
the immortal soul. Can there be invented anything holier 
than the harmony of a well-shaped human body?” 

And the spellbound auditors thought that a thing more 
beautiful than Asura’s body did not exist. 

“Life is a real joy when we consider all this, and we 
have the right to enjoy it. 

“Why did the eternal gods give us the faculty of enjoy¬ 
ing our life? Every one of our senses can be an abundant 
source of joy to us.” And his face was lighted by so splendid 
a smile that the room seemed a paradise. He went on: 

“I repeat that the first speaker is a joyless man, who 
thinks so much of what he calls higher things that he over¬ 
looks reality. He looks always so far in the distance that he 
overlooks the beauty he can grasp. 

“I consider all those higher things as mere fancies. Who 
is able to prove them? Who can declare to have seen God 
and His angels, the heavens and its kingdom? If someone 
says that there is no God he cannot be blamed.” 

Here a part of the auditors looked alarmed and it even 
seemed that a turning was being prepared. But Asura, be- 


Asura's Defeat 


155 


coming conceited by his growing success, judged that he 
could say anything without fear of being scolded. 

“No, my beloved, they cannot be blamed because they 
trust only their common sense. 

“Sura has often said that nothing useless has been 
created. Well, then, there is no use for God in the uni¬ 
verse. 

“But there is beauty and joy, there is light and happi¬ 
ness, because we see and know them all. These things are 
real. There is enjoyment and love. All the desires of our 
body and soul may be satisfied because the means of satisfying 
them are available. The dull theories of the first speaker 
are so gruesome and joyless!” 

Then Edward said: 

“There is no greater optimist than myself. All is beauty 
in my soul because I speak the word of God’s Messenger.” 

“This messenger is a fiction, too. Did you ever see 
him?” put in Asura. 

“Never.” 

“Then I call him a dream-person.” 

“Look in the papers which are full of Sura, my Master.” 

“Prove that Sura is your master.” 

“I cannot but I left my country, my family and my 
friends to speak his word. I have faith in my Master! And 
I am not the only one. Sura has many disciples and admir¬ 
ers. Oh, Emmanuel! If only you had heard and seen 
him once, you would not speak in that way. Sura is God’s 
Messenger.” 

There was a moment of deep silence. 

Tears started in Emmanuel’s eyes. 

Bicker resumed with outstretched hands. 

“Here I am; I cannot speak otherwise. I have faith in 


156 


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my Master, who is God’s eternal Messenger. I would give 
my life, if possible, a thousand times, for the triumph of his 
doctrine! I have faith! I have faith!” 

He had spoken these words with so much sincerity and 
enthusiasm, with so much beauty of expression and with so 
much inspiration that all auditors felt charmed and uplifted. 
They made suddenly such a warm ovation to the orator, that 
Asura could not conceal his defeat. 

He went forward to shake hands with Edward and said: 

“You are an enviable man, Mr. Bicker. I admire you.” 

Hundreds of people came to congratulate the orator and 
Asura himself said: 

“I never heard such a splendid address.” 

Edward, leaving the house, discovered a group of Em¬ 
manuel’s sailors, and amongst them his son Edward. 

“Edward, my dear boy!” said the father going to his 

son. 

But the lad turned away and said in an icy tone: 

“I do not know you, sir.” 

“But I am your father!” 

“I have no father.” And jumping into an automobile, he 
soon disappeared. 

Edward went back to his aeroplane and as soon as he 
saw the captain, he told him of his alarming experience. 

“Don’t mind that, Mr. Bicker,” said the captain, shaking 
hands with our hero. “Your son is not responsible. You 
know how those poor men are treated by their master. They 
have no will left as long as Asura is on earth. 

“But don’t forget that your son is not in danger.” 


Chapter VIII 


THE BIRTH OF HUMANITY 

The aeroplane left next day, and Edward was phoned to 
by Ann, whose beloved face appeared on the screen. 

Edward told her in a trembling voice what had happened 
to him, how their son Edward had refused to recognize his 
father at the close of the debate between Asura and himself. 

Ann was much alarmed, and could not help sobbing as the 
terrible news was imparted to her. Edward tried to con¬ 
sole her, saying that the boy was not in danger. 

“Not yet,” said Ann, between her sobs, “but he is under 
the command of that terrible Asura who does with his sailors 
what he likes. The thought alone that Edward has to be a 
sailor in spite of himself makes me miserable.” 

“It is indeed a great misfortune to him, and to us, my 
dear Ann, but I have been thinking it over a long time and 
I have come to the conclusion that there is a bright side in 
what has happened to our dear child. 

“Asura’s task is a useful and necessary one and Em¬ 
manuel needs helpers. Sura’s task could not be well ful¬ 
filled without Asura’s assistance, and Emmanuel could not 
accomplish his own task without helpers. 

“Think of that, Ann. In other words: our child is in¬ 
directly Sura’s co-worker.” 

“Do you think that, Edward ?” asked Ann, with a smile. 

“I do. I should have preferred to see Edward at Sura’s 
side, as I am myself. I am on the ‘white side’ of the cosmic 
event. 

“But Sura calls Asura his beloved brother and a man 
may work in behalf of Sura’s beloved brother, I guess. In 


158 


The Birth of Humanity 


the main, it is but one and the same work in which Asura 
as well as Sura are engaged: The Birth of Humanity T 

“Yes, my dear Edward, but our child is on the ‘dark side’ 
of the event you are speaking of.” 

“He is, and let him be there as long as Asura needs him.” 

After these words, Ann was a little more consoled. 

Edward, wishing to divert Ann from her dark thoughts, 
said: 

“The captain has managed a new pleasure for you, my 
dear wife; look in the large mirror behind me.” 

“I do, and I see a landscape, changing at every mo¬ 
ment.” 

“You are looking at the country I am traveling in. You 
see India.” 

The captain of the aeroplane had invented a combination 
of mirrors which reflected on Ann’s screen all that could be 
seen from the airship. 

“Where are you, Edward? I see enormous snowy moun¬ 
tain ranges.” 

“I am in India flying near the Himalayas, between Punjab 
and Kashmir. To the left you see the Moustagh or Kara¬ 
koram ranges and the Hindu Kushan at the right. The river 
on the horizon is the Indus. 

“It is possible to embrace so great a part of the world, 
because I am so high in the air and because the mountains 
are so elevated. 

“Look, Ann!” 

And she saw immense blue glaciers and snow-fields so 
near that the airship nearly touched them and she could 
even distinguish some tourists walking on the mountains, at¬ 
tached to one another by a rope. 

“It is really marvelous, Edward. May I not see the rest 
of it?” 


The Birth of Humanity 


159 


“Surely, Ann. What is the time at Amsterdam?” 

“Three o’clock in the morning.” 

“Here, it is five hours later. If you do not mind sac¬ 
rificing your night’s rest, I will show you a great part of 
India, today.” 

“I do not mind.” 

“All right, Ann, but let me first introduce my friend the 
captain who has twice saved my life.” 

“I am so grateful, sir, for all you do for my dear hus¬ 
band,” said Ann, with reverence. 

“Your husband is a splendid man, madam. If Sura’s 
holy task is a success, thanks will be due Mr. Bicker for an 
important part.” 

“Yes, sir, he is a splendid man; and everybody knows it, 
save himself.” 

“Now I will leave you alone with your husband, mad¬ 
am. I will only come in from time to time to call your at¬ 
tention to some unusual things. Look here, madam, a tiger 
with his tigress and cubs. This must be very interesting to 
you. I will stop the ship.” 

And he did. Ann Bicker at Amsterdam saw the tigers 
walk in India’s desolate desert. The beautiful animals were 
playing with their cubs in the sunshine. The captain, eager 
to do something pleasant for the wife of his devoted friend, 
whistled in a certain way and immediately the tigers and the 
cubs lifted their heads towards the aeroplane, and Ann ad¬ 
mired their clear eyes and their beautiful waving tails. Near 
the tigers, she discovered variegated peacocks with their hens 
and chickens, who watched the tiger’s demeanor. 

“Tigers are generally accompanied by peacocks,” ex¬ 
plained Edward. “Those birds prey upon the remnants of 
the tigers’ food.” 


160 


The Birth of Humanity 


In the course of the day, Lahore was passed and the cap¬ 
tain, desirous of giving Mrs. Bicker a look at Jaipur, flew 
for half an hour over the town. 

“This is the place where your husband defeated Asura, 
Sura’s great Opposer; an important date in history, that will 
always be recalled as the date of a great victory of light over 
darkness. That memorable day decided Asura’s fate.” 

“Captain, now you exaggerate,” laughed Edward. 

“I do not, Mr. Bicker. You will understand it later.” 

After dark, Edward still conversed with his wife, then 
she bade him farewell, kissing the screen. 

“Why can I not shake a wireless hand with you, Ed¬ 
ward?” said Ann laughing heartily. 

“Wait, wait, dear Ann. They will soon arrange even 
that.” 

The aeroplane landed at Ahmadabad. Here the condi¬ 
tions were a little better than elsewhere for our hero, because 
Asura’s performance had lacked the electrifying impulse of 
his former enthusiasm. The performance had been beauti¬ 
ful, as looked at from an artistic point of view, and Em¬ 
manuel’s singing was more splendid than ever. But the 
inner meaning of the scenes had been confused; they were 
less clear than before, and at the end of the spectacle the 
public was still in doubt as to whether they had assisted at 
a pantomime or listened to a philosophic discourse. 

Edward’s clear words were highly appreciated, though 
disagreeable interruptions were not entirely absent at all 
times. The audience listened most of the time with kindness, 
even when he demonstrated the absurdity of Asura’s theories. 

This encouraged our hero to give a lecture like those 
he had held so many times, before Sura’s arrival on earth. 

He spoke this time of ideals, one of his favorite sub- 


The Birth of Humanity 


161 


jects, showing how ideals were comparable to wings, lifting 
the idealist nearer to reality. 

“Reality lies much deeper than the things we touch here 
on earth,” he said. “The only reality is God Himself. The 
higher the ideal the nearer to God.” 

He explained how even the finest ideal is never too high, 
because there lies always a higher one above it. 

“The ideals of today are realities tomorrow. But ideals 
must be made realities by all. Every ideal I imprison in 
words I must free by my deeds.” 

He visited the places of interest of the most beautiful 
city of Ahmadabad, once more populous even than Bom¬ 
bay. Above all, he admired the delicate marble sculptures 
of Sidi Said’s Mosque: marble windows as white as snow 
and carved by an ideal artist’s hand. Nothing can be com¬ 
pared to these beautiful carvings whose plants and leaves 
seem to abandon the palpable world and float in some other 
region, where matter is submitted to other than natural laws 
and possesses other than normal qualities. 

The next day the aeroplane passed Baroda on its way to 
Bombay. 

As soon as this city was in sight, Mrs. Bicker was called 
to the screen by the captain. 

“I will show you an interesting sight, madam,” said he, 
as soon as Ann appeared on the screen. “The island you see 
there is Bombay, a very prosperous city. Look at the beau¬ 
tiful buildings. The large one beneath our ship is the rail¬ 
way station—Victoria Terminus—which was once much 
more used than it is now. Look at the cathedral of St. 
Thomas and the Town Hall. Over there is the Black Town 
or Native Town, much brighter than it used to be when the 
streets were so tortuous and narrow.” 


162 


The Birth of Humanity 


The ship was directed to Malabar Hill, one of the most 
beautiful peninsulas in the world, covered with palaces, bright 
gardens and tropical vegetation. Then the airship was sus¬ 
pended some time above the Towers of Silence, where the 
Parsis’ corpses are torn into pieces by vultures. 

The captain indicated, first, some “Carriers of the Dead” 
bearing three corpses to the Towers, followed by a long line 
of mourners in white robes. She saw the corpses being laid 
down in small compartments in the towers and left as prey 
to a flock of vultures which devoured them completely, leav¬ 
ing the skeletons alone. 

Ann asked her husband why the Parsis get rid of the 
corpses of their beloved ones in this strange way. 

“The Parsis,” said Edward, drawing nearer to the screen, 
“pay a great veneration to the elements and are anxious not to 
pollute them. Fire, water and the earth are all together too 
highly regarded by Parsis, to receive a corpse, which they 
consider an unclean thing. 

“In olden times these towers were closed to the public, 
but now we can look into them from above.” 

While Edward was lecturing at Bombay, Sura preached 
on the isle of Elephanta, called by the natives, “The Town 
of Purification,” one of the most remarkable rock-temples 
in the world: a Brahman sanctuary. The trinity, Brahma, 
Vishnu-Shiva is represented there, symbolizing the three 
aspects of God, called by the Christians, Father, Son and 
Holy Ghost. The four-faced Brahma is here reading to the 
angels the sacred texts suited to the marriage ceremony, 
showing them the cosmic importance of the holy tie binding 
husband and wife. 

When Sura arrived with a small aeroplane, the island 
was covered with people, eager to hear the Master’s word. 
All bowed low as soon as he approached the temple with his 


The Birth of Humanity 


163 


firm, manly step. He sat down at the entrance of the 
temple and said: 

“The most holy tie is that binding husband and wife. 
No nation can be prosperous when the home-life of the citi¬ 
zens is not sound and sincerely happy. A healthy state is 
founded on happy families. As long as husbands live in- 
harmoniously with their wives, humanity cannot grow. A 
divorce is an offense to God. Each time a divorce is granted, 
a stone falls out of the temple of humanity and when many 
divorces occur, the w T hole building is threatened with ruin. 
The society disintegrates through divorces. A husband 
should never leave his wife. A wife should never leave her 
husband, even in behalf of her children. 

“Look behind me at Brahma’s statue; it symbolizes the 
holy tie of marriage, which emanates from God himself. 

“To maintain a happy home-life, is one of the principal 
commandments.” 

And walking beneath the eaves he stopped before the 
statues and reliefs, and interpreted their inner meaning: 
how the Trimurti had to be explained—God, one, and at the 
same time, three; Vishnu and Shiva are in Brahma, Brahma 
and Shiva are in Vishnu, Brahma and Vishnu are in Shiva. 
All three are in God.” 

He sat down again to resume his sermon: 

“The family is a unit, the states are units, all states to¬ 
gether are one unit. 

“Let internationality prevail; let all humans be united in 
one brotherhood. 

“Let the cement binding it together be love, God’s holiest 
commandment. 

“Serve thy neighbor. Let thy life be a life of sacrifice. 
Let every human being be thy neighbor, thy brother. 

“Didst thou feed the hungry; didst thou give drink to the 


164 


The Birth of Humanity 


thirsty; didst thou clothe the naked; didst thou visit those 
who are sick or in prison? Didst thou save thy neighbor’s 
endangered life? Didst thou receive the stranger?” 

The orator was silent for some moments and his clear 
eyes were fastened on the sea whose gentle ripplings reached 
the ear of the watching crowd. Two multi-colored parrots 
chanced to be between Sura and his audience and both were 
motionless as if listening to the vibrant voice of the Master. 

No more pleasing voice was ever heard. The most beau¬ 
tiful sounds of the earth seemed combined in the music com¬ 
ing from Sura’s lips and it was enriched by other accents 
unknown to simple mortals: accents from other worlds where 
the breeze chants a sweeter song, where the twitter of the 
birds is more subtle, the humming of the insects more tune¬ 
ful, and where angels fill the air with their harmonious 
psalms. 

And he went on: “Be pure; be noble; be unselfish; be 
tolerant. 

“Do not degrade thy thought-life by thinking of wealth; 
transmute thy desire for wealth into a desire to give, like the 
alchemist transmutes lead into gold. 

“Let the race to which thy neighbor belongs be not of 
any influence on thy love towards him; race-prejudice is an 
antiquity outgrown; God loves the colored man as much as 
the white. 

“Be upright; do not say a disadvantageous word of thy 
neighbor in his absence. 

“Be not lax when thy neighbor’s interests are at stake; be 
enthusiastic as soon as thy service is required by thy neigh¬ 
bor and give him all the time he requires of thee. 

“The secret of progress is the wish to merge into God.” 

At this moment, a funeral procession approached. A man 
of thirty years had died at Bombay and the relatives having 


The Birth of Humanity 


165 


heard that the Master was on the island, had hired a motor- 
boat and brought the body to Sura, hoping that he might 
restore the man to life. 

As soon as the Master saw the procession and the face 
of the dead man he rose. The widow approached and said: 

“Lord, my husband has died this morning. If thou wilt, 
thou canst raise him again. I have five little children that 
cannot do without their father.” 

Sura stood near the litter where the body of the dead 
man was laid. Two ants moved in and out of its mouth. 

The Master looked for some moments in the distance as 
if to draw inspiration from the endless space. Then he fixed 
his eyes upon the dead man for a long time. 

Suddenly the ants ran away as if seized with fright. 

And Sura said with a clear voice: 

“Stand up! Stand up! Thou art a god.” 

And the man opened his eyes, lifted his hand and stood 
upon his feet supported by his erstwhile widow. And Sura 
said to the woman: 

“Release him, he is weak no more.” 

And the man kissed Sura’s hand and ran away. 

The Master sat down again as if nothing had happened 
and resumed his sermon: 

“Many obstacles oppose the growth of humanity. Vanity 
is the first. Do not desire to rule over others save in be¬ 
half of humanity. Let there be no criticism. 

“Every judgment is erroneous if not held on behalf of 
humanity. 

“Slander and evil-speaking are offenses to God. If thy 
neighbor does an evil deed, go to him, reproach him with 
his conduct; then he can defend himself or learn. 

“Let nobody be indifferent to thee; every man is thy 
brother. 


166 


The Birth of Humanity 


“Exclude nobody from thy friendship, because thou shalt 
love all people alike. 

“Let there be no rivalry between thee and thy neighbor, 
because thy neighbor is thyself. 

“Bring thoughts of oneness and love into all places where 
thou stayest. 

“Pour thoughts of love on all those thou meetest; gather 
them under the folds of thy protection, like a bird covers its 
little ones with its wings. 

“Let thy thought never be angry; an angry thought 
wounds thy neighbor. Let thy thought be lovely and gentle; 
a friendly thought softens thy neighbor’s sorrows.” 

Sura went to the shore and was partly undressed by his 
disciples. His royal breast appeared, godlike, powerful, as if 
modeled by a divine sculptor in the purest marble. 

And he said: 

“Let me baptize thee. My followers must be pure. Hu¬ 
manity must be offered to God in a state of divine purity. 
Let thy thought be clean as well as thy body. 

“Jesus said, and I say it with Him: ‘Is it not written in 
your law? I said, ye are gods.’ Ye are gods and a god shall 
not be impure.” 

And many people came to be baptized. 

He went down into the water with those who wished to 
be purified, immersing them and sustaining them with his 
words. 

“I baptize thee in the name of the Father, the Son and 
the Holy Ghost. Thou art a god, be purified.” 

And from that very moment their thoughts were uplifted 
to higher realms and their bodies became as pure as at the day 
of birth. 

Some moments later Sura sat down again, surrounded 
by an ever-increasing crowd. 


The Birth of Humanity 167 

And he said: “Judge not; God alone may judge. 

“Thou knowest not thy neighbors’ past lives. 

“Man is an eternal being, living many times in the 
flesh to gather experience. 

“Man reaps what he has sown. 

“There are those who have lived in the flesh many times 
and had the opportunity of gaining much experience. 

“There are those who have lived only a few times in the 
flesh and had but little opportunity of gaining experience. 
They are children even though they live in mature bodies. 
Of such are criminals. Judge them not; man may not judge; 
God only shall judge. Let us hate sin but love the sinner. 
Earthly judges may not punish; God alone may punish. 

“Human judges may do no more than protect society from 
repeated offenses. Let them consider the criminal as their 
younger brother. 

“There was a road leading from one town to another, 
in the midst of which was a large hole. Most people fell into 
the hole and broke their limbs. Some people having met 
with this danger before and having broken their limbs, 
turned aside from the hole and broke their limbs no more.” 

* * # 

Edward was lecturing in Bombay and its environs. 

He knew from the papers that Sura was near. The 
Master preached sermons some miles from the place where he 
stayed and it was not permitted him (his aid and forerunner) 
to even look upon his august face! 

But his confidence in his Master was without bounds; if 
the great satisfaction of seeing and hearing the man to whom 
he sacrificed his family life and his whole existence, was re¬ 
fused to him he acquiesced, knowing that Sura was leading 
his life and that his wisdom was perfect. 

He felt himself much greater than at the moment when 


168 


The Birth of Humanity 


he had left his home. Five years of constant work in all coun¬ 
tries of the world had elevated his mind and his heart to 
undreamed-of heights. Though he had not abandoned his 
sincere humbleness, and continued to feel himself as the abso¬ 
lute equal of his fellow-man, he could not help feeling his 
spiritual and moral growth. He even felt as if his personal¬ 
ity embraced each year a larger part of Space. It was very 
difficult to him to express this fact in words or even to think 
it, but it was undeniable. Even Ann remarked the differ¬ 
ence ; and she said to him: 

“Your face assumes an august expression.” 

He answered: 

“No, Ann, my face is just as it was before. I think that 
the great distance which separates us and the imperfection of 
the screens occasions an illusion.” 

“I do not think so, my dear Edward. You are a grander 
man than you were before leaving me. 

“Your noble work has ennobled you. Oh! I am so 
anxious to see you in our dear home, to shake hands, to be 
with you as before. But I will not weaken your resolution 
to give yourself to the great Master’s work. You are a 
blessed man, Edward.” 

“The captain presumes that I will be home next year, 
dear Ann, and then, perhaps, forever.” 

“Next year is a long delay, Edward. And will Asura 
leave at the same time?” 

“I expect so.” 

“And our dear boy will be free?” 

“He will.” 

Now, Ann was called up by Edward no more, nor he by 
her; the controls of the radio-telephone were always turned 
down. Edward’s chair was near his screen and Ann’s near 
hers. Each time that he or she entered the living-room of 


The Birth of Humanity 


169 


their respective homes, they looked at the screen and Ann 
often saw her husband reading and he nearly always saw 
either his wife or his children. John was now twenty-five 
years old. Mary was engaged to be married to a young 
banker at Amsterdam, and Edward had given his consent 
through the screen as soon as he had talked to the young 
man who was a serious, diligent person and promised to make 
little Mary the happiest woman in the world. 

Juliet was a nice, healthy girl of seventeen. Richard’s 
bright and thoughtful eyes looked with an increasing admira¬ 
tion at his famous father, whose handsome and still young 
face appeared so often on the screen. Donald, now eleven, 
smiled the whole day long and told his father of all the 
frolics he could; he did not admire his father like John and 
Richard but he loved him with all his little heart. 

Edward’s brother, Richard, now seventy-four, sometimes 
appeared on the screen with his wife, his children, his grand¬ 
children and his great grandchildren, a whole room full of 
happy people, and all had a look through the screens at the 
far-off country, where their famous relative traveled in be¬ 
half of the Master-Teacher of the World. 

“Our happiness would be complete if you were here, Ed¬ 
ward,” said the brother. “We all hope to see you again next 
year.” 

“I hope so, too, Richard, but do not rely too much on 
that. I am my own master no more, since I pledged my¬ 
self to prepare Sura’s coming. If he stays longer, I will not 
abandon him.” 

For some weeks Asura had been excited against our hero 
and attacked him on every occasion. He seemed demoralized 
after his defeat and desirous of avenging himself on the man 
who had overturned his power. The first moment after Ed¬ 
ward’s triumph he was so full of admiration that he had 


170 


The Birth of Humanity 


shaken hands with the victor, but shortly thereafter he real¬ 
ized the enormous influence of his defeat on his career, and he 
felt angry with the man who had dealt the blow to his power. 
And the blow had been so hard that he would be unable to 
recover his strength. And that nearly drove him crazy. 

He sat for days on the deck of his airship, alone, because 
he had refused to be further accompanied by the Austrian 
girl. He looked into the distance, his august forehead 
divided by a dark wrinkle, his lips closed, and with clenched 
fists. From time to time he uttered hollow imprecations 
and his crew trembled the whole day long. 

He attacked Bicker in the meanest of ways, using against 
him all the useless arts and tricks which, a year ago, he 
would have despised. He hired men to offend our hero in 
the streets; he tried in vain to corrupt Bicker’s chauffeur 
and even showed himself near Edward’s aeroplane with 
evil intentions. 

At Ahmadabad one of Asura’s sailors attacked our hero 
with a knife and if Bicker’s chauffeur had not warded off 
the blow, Sura would have lost his precious forerunner, or 
the latter would have been wounded. 

One day, being alone on Malabar-Hill, Bicker suddenly 
met an automobile containing five of Asura’s sailors. All 
leaped out of the vehicle, pushed our hero into the automo¬ 
bile and off they went at a great speed. 

Edward was conducted to a country house out of the 
town. There he was locked in a room and left alone. The 
house was surrounded by hundreds of sailors, partly belong¬ 
ing to Asura’s aeroplane, partly to other ships of the Op- 
poser’s fleet. 

Our hero did not know that these boys belonged to 
Asura’s crews, and he imagined himself arrested by some 
official authority. If he questioned the sailors, they did not 
answer. Later, he w T as allowed to walk in a part of the 


The Birth of Humanity 171 

garden, but it was surrounded by a double row of blue¬ 
jackets. 

He partook of a well prepared and abundant meal, 
though the fear crept into his heart that the dishes might 
be poisoned. But he had never feared the blows of destiny; 
he was so convinced that all that happens to a human being 
is an effect of causes generated by himself and therefore 
advantageous to him, so convinced that a blind fate does 
not exist, that he feared nothing and abandoned himself to 
his destiny as to the teachings of a wise master. 

He was curious to know what was going to happen. Was 
he really arrested by authority?—then he would soon be re¬ 
leased ; if not, then he might have to endure a long imprison¬ 
ment, and Sura’s work would be checked. 

But his uncertainty did not last long. At sunset, our hero, 
standing before the window, saw an automobile arrive and 
someone jump out of it. The stranger seemed to have 
great influence on Asura’s sailors; he beckoned the boys to 
withdraw and they did so as if greatly frightened. They 
fell over one another in their flight, turning their backs to¬ 
ward the man they feared so greatly. He approached the 
house and Edward recognized the captain of his aeroplane. 

“Again you, my dear friend!” said Bicker, shaking hands 
with the new arrival. “How can I thank you for this new 
proof of your friendship? You are most certainly my 
guardian angel. Do you know what happened to me, cap¬ 
tain ?” 

“I know; you have been kidnaped by Asura’s sailors.’’ 

“Asura’s sailors!” said Edward, rushing to the door. 
“Then my dear boy is there!” 

“He is not, Mr. Bicker. Asura did not fall so low 
as to let a father be arrested by his own son. The boy is on the 
Opposer’s ship at this moment, attending his master at 
table.” 


172 


The Birth of Humanity 


After some moments, he added: 

“The scene you witnessed some moments ago, proves 
Asura’s weakness; a year ago, I should have been unable to 
send those sailors away; they ordinarily act at the Opposer’s 
tacit command. Look at them now, how they tremble.” 

The sailors were all seated on the ground at a distance 
and looked very pale and sad. 

“Poor boys,” said Edward, looking out of the window. 
“Can you not cheer them up?” 

“I will try, now that Asura’s grip on their will-power 
is relaxing.” 

And some moments later the sailors stood up and left 
the grounds. Edward and the captain walked slowly to 
their automobile, talking about Sura’s work. 

Our hero made several successful addresses at Hydera¬ 
bad, the Nizam’s residence. There the weakening of Asura’s 
influence was also felt; the opposition was very soon over¬ 
come and Edward could speak, triumphant. 

Tanjore witnessed a very important event: Sura con¬ 
versing on the temple-grounds with his most intimate disci¬ 
ples, some of whom lived in this beautiful spot. 

Tanjore’s temple is one of the most remarkable Hindu 
temples in India. It is much smaller than those of Madura 
and Trichinopoly but its architecture is the finest to be seen. 
The details are so well adapted to the whole that the build¬ 
ing seems to have been erected by enchantment and pre¬ 
served in the perfect condition in which it existed in the 
builder’s mind. The numerous pillars are carved in the 
most ideal way, the halls and the immense tower make so 
striking a contrast that they seem to symbolize two oppo¬ 
site tendencies: the halls, the lower aspirations of the human 
soul, the tower the higher mind striving up to the divine. 
The gigantic Nandi, or bull of black granite, seems to con¬ 
template the wonders of creation with an admiring eye. 


The Birth of Humanity 173 

It was there that Sura happened to sit with his dis¬ 
ciples as he gave them some new instructions. He was 
speaking about religion. 

“The word religion is insufficient, because religion is 
only an outcome of that which the word tries to circum¬ 
scribe. 

“That which is meant by those who use the word re¬ 
ligion is: the knowledge of God and the way of meeting 
His wishes. 

“How find a short definition? 

“Religion is wisdom, because wisdom comprises all 
knowledge of the universe. Therefore let us call it wis¬ 
dom. 

“Only God is wise because only He possesses all wis¬ 
dom. 

“Men are gods in the making, all rooted in God, like 
children have their origin in their father; one day they will 
reach maturity. 

“In the universe the lower becomes the higher; animals 
become men; men become gods. 

“This is evolution: the universe unfolds itself like a 
flower. To explain this mystery, I can only speak in sym¬ 
bols: 

“The human body is composed of cells; so the human 
body is a cell in a higher organization; all organizations are 
included in the Most High. 

“Meditate on this subject till it becomes in thy soul 
like an all-conquering light. Meditation is the highest form 
of prayer: he who meditates approaches God. 

“The universe evolves from a lower state to a higher. 

“The more ye favor progress, the more ye will approach 
God. 

“God will show you the way; if ye listen to Him in 
your most sacred hours of meditation He will reveal him- 


174 


The Birth of Humanity 


self to you. By meditation ye leave world after world be¬ 
hind you and ascend all worlds till ye reach God.” 

Sura was himself for a long while in meditation and his 
face seemed to reflect God’s heavenly smile. 

Then he resumed: 

“Sincere kindness is the secret of progress. 

“Though thou art intelligent like an angel, though thou 
spend thy life in works of charity and thou hast no kind¬ 
ness, it profiteth thee nothing. 

“Though thy heart be as pure as a fountain in the rocks, 
though thou be honored by all thy fellow-men and art the 
glory of thy country and thou hast no kindness, thou art 
nothing. 

“Though thou bestowest all thy goods to feed the poor 
and speakest with the tongues of men and of angels, and thou 
hast no kindness, thou art like a statue with clay feet. 

“Kindness is God’s eternal glory.” 

The orator closed his lips and lifted his eyes to the crest 
of the tower where a singing bird held his attention. He 
smiled and the bird flew down and perched itself on Sura’s 
finger, where it went on singing. 

All those present smiled at the unusual event and the 
glory of the place seemed increased. 

The Hindu Brother asked: 

“May we publish the holy words thou hast bestowed upon 
us, this happy morning?” 

“You may,” answered the Master after some moments of 
silence, “but be careful not to overfeed your neighbor’s mind. 
I rely upon your intelligence.” 

Some days later, we find the Master at Madura walk¬ 
ing in the magnificent temple, followed by a respectful 
crowd. 

This temple is one of the most glorious places in the 


The Birth of Humanity 


175 


world. Dedicated partly to Shiva and partly to his con¬ 
sort Minakshi, it seems to symbolize the whole universe, 
which is founded on those two aspects of the Divine. Nine 
gopurams or gate towers lavishly covered with carved fig¬ 
ures, seem to convey the prayers of the fervent Hindus to 
the heart of the heavens. The hall of the thousand pil¬ 
lars, conceived by a genial mind and carved by skilful 
hands, seems to contain a crowd of never-ending beauties, 
symbolizing the endlessness of Divine imagination. 

The “Tank of the Golden Lilies,” is a square lake en¬ 
cased in the temple like an adorned emerald in whose surface 
the gopurams mirror themselves like thought-images in a 
dream. All round the tank runs a lofty arcade whose inner 
walls are painted with representations of the most famous 
pagodas in India. 

In this temple happened one of the most noteworthy 
events related in history. Sura had gathered there the rep¬ 
resentatives of all the chief religions in the world. The 
Christians fraternized with the Hindus, the Jew T s with the 
Buddhists, the Shintoists with the Mohammedans, the Parsis 
with the Jains. The whole gamut of colors and tints was 
represented in their faces; the negroes talked with the 
white men, the yellow with the red. A rejoicing fellowship 
of all races prevailed in the sacred walls of the temple, 
where the nucleus of humanity was to be born. 

When Sura appeared in his splendid robes, all stood back 
to make room for him. He proceeded to the edge of the 
Tank of the Golden Lilies and waited there some moments, 
his eyes fastened on one of the “gopurams” from whence 
he seemed to expect some inspiration. There was a solemn 
silence in the holy place and all nature seemed to hold its 
breath at the important moment, that there might be given 
a new impulse to creation. 


176 


The Birth of Humanity 


Sura was surrounded by the heads of all the religions 
represented in the assembly. He stretched out his right 
hand and all laid theirs on his. 

"From this moment Humanity is born,” he said in a 
strong voice which with its penetrating vibrations filled the 
immense temple of Madura. “Let it grow to the glory of 
God and His Universe.” 

And a mysterious multi-colored ray of light fell from the 
sky upon the great crowd and hovered some moments above 
Sura’s person, encircling his powerful body and lovely head 
with a halo, glorious like a rainbow. 

And thunder was in the air, that said: 

“This is my beloved son. Follow his doctrine.” 


Chapter IX 


asura's departure 

Asura traveled in his aeroplane above the beautiful 
island of Ceylon, with its splendid tropical vegetation. The 
crew enjoyed this little trip very much. 

“Look,” said one of the boys, “there is Anuradhapurah, 
the buried city of the Buddhists. The big bell-shaped con¬ 
struction is called Abhayagiriya. It has a diameter of 327 
feet and it contains bricks enough to build a city. It is even 
comparable to the Egyptian pyramids on account of its 
enormous wealth in materials. All those stone bells contain 
relics of Buddha or his disciples; they are countless. Some 
of them are well carved.” 

“I have been there, too,” said another sailor. “I enjoyed 
my visit to the Monastic buildings. One of them contains 
1,600 pillars. Look at them; it is like a stone forest. 
Farther on you see the Pokunas bathing tanks. I don’t know 
how many of them are to be found here.” 

One of the sailors had tears in his eyes and said: 

“It is here that I lost my freedom. Here I was made 
the miserable being I am now. I walked with Emmanuel, 
who was so kind to me and held my arm entreating me to 
be his friend. Two days later I was his slave—a sailor on 
his ship! And, perhaps, forever! 

All the sailors burst out laughing at these words. 

“You are a fool, my boy. I hope that you will never 
recover your freedom. I hate you!” 

An hour later, the aeroplane flew above the mountains. 
Kandy could easily be distinguished at the side of its grace- 


178 


The Birth of Humanity 


ful lake, mirroring the Temple of the Tooth on its smooth 
surface. 

“I have been in the temple,” said one of the sailors, “but 
I did not see Buddha’s tooth.” 

“I did,” said another, “but it is impossible that that piece 
of ivory be a human tooth. If it is a tooth at all, it has 
belonged to some huge animal.” 

The ship lingered some moments above the Botanical 
Gardens of Peradeniya, inferior only to those of Java. 

Colombo soon appeared with its interesting population, 
composed of many races, its splendid situation on the sea 
and its well protected harbor. 

Then the ship flew over the Indian Ocean on its way 
to Africa, 

Asura was most of the time on the deck of his aero¬ 
plane, where he took his meals and slept. 

He had changed since the reader saw him in all his con¬ 
quering glory. His beautiful forehead was shaded by a sad 
expression. He smiled no more; his seductive laugh had 
gone; despair preyed upon this splendid being. 

His fall was near. Since the day (so unhappy to him) 
he had been vanquished by a mere mortal, he was himself 
no more. 

Bicker, a merchant, had defeated Asura, the Angel of 
Light! 

And he was unable to recover his authority of old; some¬ 
thing had been torn to pieces in his heart. He had lost 
self-confidence. 

The whole day long, he was lost in black thoughts, 
sighed or growled and walked with a hasty step along the 
deck of his aeroplane; then again he sat for hours, motionless, 
looking at the sky, like a corpse with extinct eyes. 

Sometimes he sat down at his organ, but produced only 
discordant sounds or melodies without end, which seemed 


Asura's Departure 


179 


to worry the crew with their sad notes and to paralyze 
their energy. The sailors felt more uncomfortable than usual 
when they heard those weary sounds, benumbing all their 
motions, and they were glad when Asura stopped his play¬ 
ing and most of the time he did this abruptly and with a 
curse. 

In those moments, he used to think of the girl who had 
traveled with him from Java to Australia and whose kind 
face did not fade from his memory. How he wished to be 
with her now in this difficult time, to make her the con¬ 
fidant of his sorrows, to hear her tender voice giving him 
courage—to lay his weary head on her breast and to feel 
her thin, rosy fingers stroking his curls. 

But he was doomed to bear his sorrows alone. 

At times he considered making friends with one or two 
of his sailors, to emancipate them, to restore to them a part 
of their will-power. He longed for companions now, and 
would have been glad to converse in a kind manner with these 
boys. 

But they all hated him too much to expect even a kind 
thought from them. And if he loosened, in the slightest de¬ 
gree, his grip on their will, they might all break loose and 
probably kill him. 

The ship now floated above the Arabian desert, endless 
plains of sands with a few oases. 

Asura ordered a long stop above the town of Mecca and 
its holy temple, not because the place was of any interest 
to him (nothing interested him), but to defy the Moham¬ 
medans who did not tolerate non-Mohammedans intruding 
upon their sacred territory. 

But, to his great disappointment, he did not notice any 
unkind feeling in the town. Many Mohammedans crowded 
in the streets, looking at the huge airship, but they waved 
with their veils as if to greet the intruders. 



180 


The Birth of Humanity 


Asura shouted in an unpleasant voice: 

“Why are they not angry?” 

He did not know that, since Sura had proclaimed the 
birth of humanity in Madura’s glorious temple, all religious 
conflicts had faded away in this country. 

At Medina the crowds in the streets were still more dense 
than at Mecca and the same signs of friendship were sent 
to Asura, The Great Hater. 

“They greet us kindly, instead of cursing us!” shouted 
Asura, harshly and with clenched fists. 

Mount Sinai appeared with its towering red rocks, high 
above the Red Sea and some sailors of the crew had tears 
in their eyes as they saw the mountain, which had seemed like 
fairy-land to them when they were children and the pastor 
told them about the Lord showing himself in the burning 
bush. 

The same day Cairo was seen, a glorious assembly of 
palaces, mosques and gardens. In the background were the 
pyramids, those wonders of the world, where sacred cere¬ 
monies were celebrated in epochs when most people lived in a 
savage state. 

Asura met with some success at Cairo; his face was there 
somewhat less serious, and was occasionally lighted by a 
smile. But he did not doubt that Sura would soon and 
easily conquer this classic ground. 

Emmanuel sought some diversion in visiting the city and 
its many curiosities. Disguised, he walked in the streets 
and passed a long time in the Museum, where the most re¬ 
markable antiquities in the world are assembled: marvelous 
statues, above all, those of Prince Rahoteb and his consort 
Nofret, who, thanks to the artist’s genius, seem living things 
gifted with superhuman faculties which enabled them to 
penetrate into the unknown depths of nature. 

He visited the Great Pyramid, lingered a long while in 


Asura's Departure 


181 


the Kings’ Chamber near the sarcophagus, and a bright 
smile lighted his face. 

“It was here,” he said, with a trembling voice. 

In the Great Gallery he bowed deeply and his face was 
glorious like the sun. 

Emmanuel stood a long time with crossed arms before 
the Sphinx, a time-honored mystery in itself. The eyes of 
the statue are marvelous. What does the Sphinx see in 
the far distance? Does he see God Himself on His throne 
of glory ? The expression of the face is sublime. 

Asura looked at the Sphinx with a cruel smile, muttering: 

“And here I was his enemy!” 

He visited the Serapeum containing many cows’ graves 
and the beautiful Mastabas of Ti and Ptahotep with their 
marvelous reliefs where the real meaning of the scenes is 
concealed behind symbols. 

Then he went on southward and lingered at Denderah in 
the Temple of Hator with its imposing reliefs and columns. 
On the ceiling of one of the rooms, he discovered a mysterious 
figure, the hands stretched to the ground, and, at the same 
time, covering the walls: The Ruler of the Sun and the 
Moon. 

Asura’s face was again illuminated by reminiscences of 
olden times, and his smile shone like a flash of lightning. 

He stayed a long time at Luxor. The Temple of Kar- 
nak dedicated to Ammon, with its marvelous hypostyle, con¬ 
taining 134 gigantic columns, and the temple of Luxor with 
its ideal statues of Rameses the Great seemed dear to him; 
sometimes tears appeared in his eyes and he sighed. 

He looked at the kings’ graves on the opposite side of 
the Nile with an indifferent eye—even at the beautiful tombs 
of Rameses III and Sethos I.—and visited only for a mo¬ 
ment the temple of Deir-el-Bahri with its marvelous fres¬ 
coes, thousands of years old but looking as fresh as if they 



182 


The Birth of Humanity 


had been painted a year ago. He was not even interested in 
the Rameseum but lingered a long time before the Colossi 
of Memmon. They seemed his friends and he greeted them 
by kissing his fingers to them. 

Emmanuel seemed interested neither in the temple of Esna 
with its splendid zodiac, nor in the marvelous temple of 
Edfou dedicated to Horus, the light-god, but that of Korn 
Ombo attracted his attention for some moments. He leaned 
a long time with both hands on the splendid reliefs as if re¬ 
calling some far-off remembrance, but retired shaking his 
head. 

When his ship passed Assuan and the island of Philae 
he closed his eyes. 

Asura admired a long time the colossal statues of Rameses 
II at Abou-Simbel, and remarked the ideal kindness and 
sweetness of the king’s noble face, and he stood some mo¬ 
ments on one of the statue’s knees, as if nearer a friend. 

At Khartum the White and the Blue Nile meet. The 
last one is a real mystery on account of its sudden rises. 
The Blue Nile is the father of Egypt’s fertility. 

The ship followed the course of the White Nile, passing 
Fashoda, the lake Rudolf and reached the splendid Lake 
Victoria Nyanza, large as a sea and beautiful as a fairy- 
landscape. 

Asura went down to the Ripon Falls, the cradle of 
the Nile. He saw an arm of the lake fall suddenly down 
the rocks and pursue its course many feet lower, flowing to 
the north through a paradise landscape. The waters seemed 
to glide instead of falling down, as if they were sorry to 
leave the lake, where they had rested for so many years in 
ideal quietness. Many big black fishes succeeded in jumping 
up the falls, notwithstanding the almost overwhelming 
current. 

The ship flew a long time above the lake, traversed by 


Asura's Departure 


183 


the equator: a real paradise with all the luxuries of tropical 
vegetation and an interesting fauna. Rhinoceroses, hippopot¬ 
amuses, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, elephants, several kinds 
of antelopes and many other tropical animals live there in 
an ideal state of liberty and under dangerous conditions 
also, because many of them are devoured by the lions at night. 

The lake, as large as Scotland, is like a bit of fertility 
suddenly fallen into the midst of a burning continent. It 
must have been the largest crater of the world, through 
which thousands of years ago, all the furies inhabiting the 
centre of the earth, have escaped; since the pit has been 
filled by the flow of subterranean rivers. At Muanza, huge 
granite mountains have been turned over in some gigantic 
upheavel of the elements. Many waterspouts, sometimes 
dozens at a time, decorate the scene. 

Asura sailed to Nairobi where he intended to give a 
performance. At one side of the ship towered Mount 
Kenia, covered with everlasting snow, at the other side 
Kilima Njaro, as high and as formidable as the first, like 
gigantic guards, forbidding the entrance to a holy land. 

Emmanuel’s performance was a great success and it was 
certain that Edward Bicker would have great difficulty in 
breaking the path for Sura’s blessings to these African 
hearts. 

The ship followed the lakes Tanganyika and Nyasa to 
the Zambezi. 

Asura, full of hope and in a light mood, on account of 
his success at Nairobi, walked to the Victoria Falls, where 
he admired the most stupendous cataract in the world. 

The immense river Zambezi, one and a quarter miles 
wide, falls abruptly into a bottomless abyss, from where 
thick clouds of water rush up to the light as if frightened 
by what they had seen in the dark cavern below; on their 
reappearance they are saluted by the sunbeams with their 


184 


The Birth of Humanity 


fairest smiles, translated into glorious rainbows. The clear 
waves arrive from the horizon, cheerful and resolute, play¬ 
ing like careless school children, to suddenly meet with a 
catastrophe which crushes them nearly to death, hurls them 
down to the bottom of the falls, where they are tossed for 
a time, before they are finally liberated, free to pursue their 
path to the Indian Ocean. 

The most remarkable feature of this nature-monument is 
that the place opposite the falls is as elevated as that from 
where the water falls start; the spectator dominates the entire 
cataract, sometimes veiled in thick clouds of tiny drops, 
which have created the “Rain-Forest” a luxurious tropical 
paradise in the midst of an infinity of dry sands. 

Asura stayed a long time at this marvelous spot, looking 
at the immense quantities of water, attracted to the abyss 
like human beings by sin. And he saw there a symbol of 
himself, the Great Deceiver, the Tempter, the Opposer, but 
the generator of force. 

He walked slowly to his aeroplane. 

But what had happened there? 

His airship was surrounded by hundreds of natives who 
assailed it with sticks and stones, and Asura heard the noise 
of breaking windows. He tacitly ordered the natives to 
retire, but he seemed to have no power on them. 

Asura grew pale. 

For the first time in his life he w’as frightened. 

He saw the end of his reign. 

His fear, some moments ago, was a foreboding of this 
weakness. 

Asura had never feared before. 

H,e gave some tacit orders to his sailors and a cannonade 
followed, which killed more than a hundred natives. 

Asura smiled, his boys were still obedient. 

But a new attack followed. 


Asura's Departure 


185 


Emmanuel hiding himself behind a bush, watched for a 
moment when the attention of the natives was centered 
elsewhere, and swung himself onto the first platform of his 
aeroplane and climbed to the deck, shouting: “Off, directly!” 

And the ship was lifted into the air with such a speed 
that the natives, believing they saw a supernatural phenom¬ 
enon, fell to the ground. 

Asura, noticing that he had regained his influence on the 
black crowd, tacitly ordered them to kill themselves, and 
the poor wretches obeyed. The Opposer remained on the 
spot till not one of them stood upright. 

The expression of his face was at that moment an em¬ 
blem of cruelty and hate. 

Asura stayed the whole day on the deck of his ship, lost 
in painful thoughts; he had lost a part of his power. 

“Black natives of Africa have damaged Asura’s aero¬ 
plane!” said he to himself. “Asura, the Divine has, for one 
moment, been weaker than those naked fellows!” 

He could not stand this thought. 

Edward Bicker, the sailor, was talking with some of his 
mates about what had happened, that morning. 

“There is something wrong with our master,” said one 
of the boys. “He scolds us no more, and leaves us alone 
the whole day long. 

“This morning’s charge on our ship shows that Emman¬ 
uel’s power is dimishing; he could not prevent it—and this 
gives me the hope that we will soon be free—I feel that the 
degrading state wherein we live, will soon be ended.” 

Another sailor added: Have you noticed that we are no 
longer compelled to hate each other? I do not hate you any 
more and even desire to be your friend.” 

Edward smiled: “I never succeeded in hating you. I 
will be your friend forever.” 


186 


The Birth of Humanity 


The ship soon reached the important town of Bulawayo, 
Cecil Rhodes’ creation, where Asura gave a successful per¬ 
formance. 

Emmanuel visited the imposing spot where Rhodes’ grave 
is built in the rocks on the Matopo Hills. No more glorious 
resting-place can be imagined—it is fit for a hero. 

Cecil Rhodes was a hero who surmounted gigantic dif¬ 
ficulties to add a splendid jewel to the crown of his re¬ 
vered queen. When one travels in Rhodesia and admires 
all he has done in so short a time, one wonders how the 
human brain could conceive so gigantic an enterprise and 
execute it in such a splendid way. 

The hero sleeps, surrounded by mighty rocks, which, like 
stone giants, seem to protect him with their powerful 
shields. The place looks like a real fortress of virtue and 
patriotism. 

The aeroplane reached Kimberley and its diamond-mines 
and went on to Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Pretoria, 
rich countries, peopled by Hollanders, who persist in speak¬ 
ing their own language. 

Asura met there with a faint success, though many peo¬ 
ple admired his performance from an artistic point of view 
only; and his glorious voice never missed its effect. 

He passed the Drakenbergen (Dragon mountains) whose 
gigantic shapes seem to imitate the contortions of antedi¬ 
luvian monsters; then he flew quietly above the blessed land 
of Natal. 

He gave performances at Pietermaritzburg and Durban, 
where he met with an unexpected success; crowds of white 
and black people attended his lectures and when he de¬ 
parted, he was cheered by his admirers. 

A new hope crept into his heart. 

He traversed the old Holland-Dutch Cape Colony and 
stayed for some days at Cape Town. This wonderland of 


Asura's Departure 187 

beauty was also very hospitable to him. His admirers led 
him through the marvelous country, where the most impos¬ 
ing mountains look down on the most fertile landscapes. He 
was even brought by aeroplane to the top of the Table- 
Mountain, from where he dominated the country, where the 
Dutch language is still spoken with a strong preference. 

Then he made a long trip into the United States of 
America, and later, to the principal cities of Europe. But 
we will not follow him there. 

We will only mention the end of Emmanuel’s career on 
earth. 

One day he ordered his ship to land on an immense 
green meadow. Then he compelled his crew to leave the 
aeroplane and to stand in two rows on the grass. 

He derided them, saying: 

“You set of fools! Why did you submit yourselves to 
a slavery which degraded you for three long years? You had 
only to will to be free. But you could not even will. 
Be damned forever!’’ 

Then he closed the door of his ship, which was lifted from 
the ground and soon disappeared into the distance. 

The sailors looked at each other in amazement. 

They felt as if they were awakening from a long night¬ 
mare. 

“What has happened to me?” 

“Where am I?” 

“Is Emmanuel no more present to humiliate me?” 

“Am I no longer a coward?” 

Some of them sat down on the grass and cried like 
children. 

Some moments later, one of them discovered that his 
pockets were full of gold. 

“Look here. Gold! From whence did it come?” 

All made the same discovery. 


188 


The Birth of Humanity 


“Emmanuel’s gold!” yelled one of them. “There it 
goes.” 

And he threw it far from him. But others picked it up. 

Several boys danced and laughed for several minutes with 
hoarse voices, leaping like fools. If one had been able to 
see all those men, he would have considered them escaped 
lunatics from a mad-house. 

Edward Bicker felt ashamed. Being himself again, he 
fathomed the depth of his humiliation. He felt no joy 
in being free, but only shame for his three years of slavery. 
He made heroic efforts not to sob in the presence of the other 
sailors. Where was he? Probably in Austria where Asura 
had given his last performance, the day before. 

But what did he discover? 

The many towers of Amsterdam, the place where he was 
born and where his mother lived, sparkling in the last rays 
of the sunset. 

“I am at home!” said he, with an incredulous smile. “I 
am at home!” 

And off he went without taking leave of the boys who 
had shared his degradation for three years. He felt too 
ashamed. 

The sun disappeared behind the city and soon night 
spread its folds over the panting earth. 

The poor boy felt glad that he would not have to trav¬ 
erse the city in his sailor’s suit in the daytime, and thus risk 

meeting his friends and relatives in the street. 

* * * * 

Edward Bicker, Sura’s forerunner, had been traveling in 
the United States of America some time before the events 
just related. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, he had been in 
almost constant communication with his wife and children. 

Ann talked to him with tears in her eyes, saying: 

“My dear Edward, you have been in Europe for months 


Asura's Departure 


189 


and you did not even allow me to see you, to shake hands with 
you, whom I have not met for nearly six years.” 

“I was not allowed to> do so, Ann. The captain of my 
ship is the mediator between Sura and myself and he ad¬ 
vised me to persevere in my intention not to meet you before 
Sura’s work was finished. I must devote myself to the 
Master’s service with all my thoughts and with all my heart. 
It is a terrible strain upon me, but my health is as splendid as 
possible and I must persevere. You know that Sura’s trip 
to Europe was a splendid one. Everywhere, he was re¬ 
ceived with open arms.” 

“Yes, Edward, but you also met with immense success. 
You are now the most famous man on earth, and I am 
proud to be your wife!” 

“I am happy to be your husband, my dear Ann, the noble 
mother of our children. 

“And I am convinced that my pilgrimage will soon be at 
an end, because we have been working in nearly all the 
countries of the world, As soon as our trip is finished, Sura 
will probably have completed his work.” 

“Probably,” said Ann, with a sigh. 

“Yes, Ann. It is always possible that I will have to start 
on a new trip, but this seems improbable.” 

Edward’s children communicated with their father nearly 
every day. He was interested in all the members of his 
little family, and he could even look after the exercises of 
his two boys, Richard and Donald, the first fifteen, and the 
second twelve years old. He could read their handwriting 
through the screen, and show them their mistakes. 

Mary, now twenty-three years old, had just married her 
young banker; and Juliet, at eighteen, was considered the 
prettiest girl of Amsterdam. She loved her father so much 
that she never neglected her daily chat with her “dear 
adviser.” 


190 


The Birth of Humanity 


Edward talked sometimes with Arthur and Orlando 
Lano, whom some readers will remember from a previous 
volume, both saved by our hero from an ignoble life, the 
one from enslaving avarice, the other from an existence of 
hate. Arthur was a vice-president of the famous Bicker- 
Van Nuyss Company; the other, one of the most appreciated 
attorneys in the country. 

One morning the captain told our hero that they were 
approaching New York. 

In the far distance he saw the tops of many buildings, 
while the city itself was still concealed behind the horizon. 
It seemed as if the city were submerged and that only the 
tops of the highest buildings could still be seen. But soon 
the whole city was lifted out of the water and showed itself 
in all its splendor. 

Edward was received with much sympathy by the 
Americans. 

Asura had spent a long time in the United States, but 
American common sense had soon uncovered Emmanuel’s 
tricks. Besides, Asura’s glamour was much more transparent 
than ever before. It was as if his soul was about to be de¬ 
composed. His voice was as glorious as ever and his per¬ 
formances as tasteful, but all was superficial like tinsel. 

A paper called him the greatest actor and singer in the 
world, but at the same time the greatest impostor. 

One day, Asura committed the great imprudence of 
speaking ill of Sura and Edward, who were both held in the 
greatest esteem. 

The Americans felt by intuition that Sura’s doctrine was 
true and Emmanuel’s false. In fact, the latter had made 
many friends in the United States and had crowds of ad¬ 
mirers; but, as soon as Edward spoke, Asura’s theories fell 
down like houses of cards made by children. 

The Americans had not yet forgotten Edward’s previous 


Asura's Departure 


191 


visit when he met with great success after his sojourn in 
Europe. (It was not mentioned in this story, because no 
striking events took place in those countries.) But during 
this first visit, Edward was an almost unknown person; 
now he could rightly be called the most famous man on 
earth: the forerunner of Sura, the Divine, whose words were 
wired to all countries. 

Asura received the finishing stroke in America when he 
spoke in a despising way of Jesus’ imperishable doctrine. He 
caused everyone to shout after him, and even had some diffi¬ 
culty in escaping the indignant crowd. 

Edward’s first address in New York was made in Roose¬ 
velt Hall, a newly-erected building containing many thou¬ 
sands of seats. It was provided with countless apparatuses 
for radio-telephoning, sending forth the spoken words to all 
parts of the country. These machines had at the same time 
so good an influence on the acoustics of the hall that all of 
Edward’s words were heard in the remotest seats. 

His success was so striking and so many people had not 
been able to get a seat in the immense hall, that our hero 
had to give many other addresses in order to satisfy all those 
who wished to hear him; but when he left New York, 
the City of Light, thousands had not yet succeeded in hear¬ 
ing his addresses. All his words had, however, been trans¬ 
ferred to numberless records, and during the following years, 
Edwards’ lectures were heard every day in many halls, while 
he himself was absent. 

Sura stayed at Washington, the capital of the United 
States, and made his addresses to a less numerous crowd. 
His followers sometimes succeeded in managing meetings, 
where only representatives of the different religions were 
present: Christian priests and clergymen, priests of the east¬ 
ern faiths which had churches and temples in the United 
States, and never was one of these meetings disturbed by 


192 


The Birth of Humanity 


any disagreeable incident. As soon as Sura’s imposing per¬ 
son appeared, all conversation ceased and the assistants rose. 

All persons who saw him felt by intuition that a higher 
being was present, an entity nearer to the Most High. 

Many philosophers asked themselves the reason why 
Sura made such a great impression on his auditors. It was 
not his outward appearance. It was not his beautiful face 
and his imposing body; it was not even his harmonious 
voice which touched all the hearts and brought tears to the 
eyes of the women. It was not his words. 

It was not his divine style which the author of this 
book has tried in vain to reproduce in all its splendor, as it 
was heard by him in the Master’s glorious home. 

The author even feels ashamed to present these godly 
sentences in so poor a reproduction, but better give them 
in an imperfect form than not to give them at all. Sura’s 
ideas, as they are known to the author, are too useful to 
be shut up in one single man’s mind. Let the public read 
Sura’s addresses several times, as they are imperfectly 
sketched in this volume, meditate on the thoughts and not 
on the words. Then Sura’s real meaning will be revealed 
to those who are serious enough to persevere in their medi¬ 
tation till the Master’s real intention becomes clear to them. 
And wisdom will be their reward. 

No; it was not Sura’s words that caused his success. 

Several auditors were conscious of being face to face 
with a person so highly evolved, that they did not succeed 
in fathoming the distance separating them from him. Those 
auditors were conscious of the holy being dwelling in that 
glorious body; perhaps they did even see Him. 

This faculty of seeing the marrow through the envelope 
is very keen in many Americans. 

And that is why these hearts were so accessible to Sura’s 
doctrine. 


Asura's Departure 


193 


The Brotherhood of Religions will have its heart in the 
United States of America and radiate from there to all 
the world. 

Edward Bicker had another talk with Ann, his wife. 

“My dear Edward,” said she, with one or her kind 
smiles, “I have heard one of your addresses, delivered in 
America.” 

“I am glad to hear it, Ann.” 

“Yes, I went to the great concert hall, where a very 
large crown listened to what you were saying in New York. 
And you, yourself, appeared on a large screen. It seemed 
to us all as if you were present.” 

“And were the children with you?” 

“They were, and little Donald was so deluded that he 
ran to the screen, shouting, ‘Father, my dear father!’ The 
audience laughed and Donald earned his first applause.” 

Edward’s ship sailed for Boston, where he spoke to large 
audiences of Christian Scientists, to whom he showed how 
Mrs. Baker Eddy’s beautiful doctrines were sometimes mis¬ 
interpreted : 

“Did Jesus cure Himself?” said he. “No. He did not 
even save Himself from the cross. 

“If you would be Christians, do not think too much 
about your own health, or your own business. 

“A Christian Scientist uses the divine gifts chiefly in 
behalf of others. 

“Cure others and sustain others by your thought-power. 
Then only you will deserve the sacred name of Christians.” 

These words, spoken in the convincing tone of which 
our hero alone had the secret, brought an entire change in 
the minds of Mrs. Eddy’s followers. 

Our hero was then brought to the lake district, first to 
Lake Ontario and the marvelous Niagara Falls, where the 
waters of a great part of the world are thrown down the 


194 


The Birth of Humanity 


rocks and are transformed into humid clouds, to be reunited 
below and resume their triumphant course to the ocean. 

The captain showed our hero Lakes Erie, Huron, Mich¬ 
igan and Superior, all clear like brooks and immense like 
seas. 

“There is a future of usefulness for the whole world in 
these lakes,” said the captain. 

Bicker met with the same success in Chicago as in New 
York, and the population of this immense city cheered him 
without end. 

He enjoyed his trip through the states of Illinois, Iowa, 
Nebraska and Colorado, and his flight over the Rocky 
Mountains, white with snow. 

The captain stopped at the top of Pike’s Peak and Ed¬ 
ward took a meal at the hotel, surrounded by snow-fields, 
blinding like lightning. 

Then he went on to Yellowstone Park, where he spent 
more than a week, enjoying the curiosities of the place 
where nature has assembled its most marvelous wonders. 

He walked with the captain on the glorious formations 
of Mammoth Hot Springs, where a variegated glacier seems 
to have descended right from heaven. Our travelers ad¬ 
mired the many geysers: immense fountains of boiling water, 
clear as crystal, bursting from the heart of the earth and 
filling the air with beauty and imposing sounds. The most 
beautiful waterfalls rush through the Grand Canyon and 
seem to fight with the yellow rocks of their bed. And 
bears, bisons, deer and other wild animals live there in the 
freedom of a protected paradise. 

Edward said to the captain: 

“It seems that we are now taking a trip for pleasure.” 

“We are,” said the captain, laughing, loudly. “Your 
pilgrimage is nearly over, Mr. Bicker. You will soon go 
home now.” 


Asura's Departure 


195 


He stayed for some time with the captain in Yosemite 
Valley, admiring the glorious Sierra Nevada, the stupen¬ 
dous Yosemite Falls, the highest in the world, and walking 
in the Mariposa Grove at the feet of the giant trees. 

Then he was directed to his home in California, where 
the reader saw him in the first chapter. 

* * * 

Sura alighted from his aeroplane near the Grand Can¬ 
yon in Colorado. He had chosen this ideal place to preach 
his last public sermon. The rest of the time to be devoted 
to his pilgrimage on earth, should be given to his disciples, 
with whom he conversed daily. 

He was seated near the mountains, surrounded by a 
large crowd which had come from all parts of the country 
to listen to the holy man. 

The sun, going down the western horizon, poured its 
most glorious rays on the landscape. The spectator fancies 
seeing a city, built by people three hundred feet high, who, 
even in these gigantic surroundings, would look like pigmies. 
He sees walls, temples, bathing-palaces, forums, all built of 
rosy stones, so radiant that they seem to be sunbeams them¬ 
selves. The temples are so numerous and of such different 
construction, that one can fancy all the religions of the world 
as present in this wonderland. There are Christian cathe¬ 
drals with their domes and their spires, Mohammedan 
mosques with their elegant minarets, Hindu temples with 
their massive, and at the same time slender gopurams, Jain 
temples with their too elaborate ornamentations, the ruins 
of the Javanese Borobudur and the solitude of the Temple 
of Heaven. 

All these places, where God is worshiped, are built here 
of the same splendid material; all show the same heavenly 
hue. And this similarity gives them a wondrous aura of 
oneness, symbolizing Sura’s theories. 


196 


The Birth of Humanity 


Sura was seated near this symbol, divine in appearance, 
powerful in his gestures, perfect in his beauty. 

He spoke of education, explaining how children must 
be guided to their high destination of manhood and woman¬ 
hood : 

“Children must be educated in a feeling of greatness; 
they must know their divine origin. 

“Children must be educated in a feeling of self-respect. 
Children must be educated in a feeling of heroism. Every 
child is a potential hero and saint. Therefore, touch it with 
respectful hands. Children are holy beings. In their hands 
rests the future of humanity. They must know how great 
they are and what is expected of them. They must be pre¬ 
pared for the knowledge that they are gods. Let parents 
never forget that it is their duty to bring forth the god 
from their child.” 

He had spoken with a strong, pleasing voice and each of 
his words penetrated the parents’ hearts and quickened their 
sense of responsibility towards those who were entrusted 
to their care. 

The declining sun painted the glorious temples with 
royal colors, draping them in a splendid purple mantle whose 
folds were every moment drawn closer to the rosy rocks. 

The omnipresent purple seemed at last to grow into 
flames, not devouring flames, but flames of beauty, descend¬ 
ing from heaven to add their splendor to the scenery, where 
Sura, the Divine, explained God’s will. 


CHAPTER X 


THE OATH 

Many children flocked around Sura, as if they knew that 
he was their great protector and their great consoler. They 
felt their little hearts attracted to the wondrous man who 
was speaking of them with so much love. 

Sura laid his hands upon their heads and his smile 
seemed to illumine even the glorious light of the mountains. 

Then he resumed his sermon: 

“Virtues are means of reaching God who is the centre 
of all virtues. 

“If thou possesseth one, thou possesseth them all, be¬ 
cause only a perfect man can possess a virtue. 

“Choose the virtue which appeals most to thee, and thou 
wilt reach God. 

“If thou chooseth purity, thou reachest at the same time 
compassion, because impurity makes victims; and compas¬ 
sion is grafted upon charity like a shoot onto a tree; charity 
is an offspring of faith, because it derives from faith in an 
all-loving God.” 

Some invalids were brought to him: first a boy, afflicted 
with a strange disease; he crawled on the ground, crying out 
all sorts of terrible words, which one would not have ex¬ 
pected to be spoken by a child. 

Sura seemed to gather all his forces and his godly brow 
was illumined by a mysterious light. 

Then he said in a clear voice: 

“Go out from that child.” 

And the child cried: 

“I refuse! I refuse!” 


198 


The Birth of Humanity 


Sura approached the boy and repeated: 

“Go out from that child.” 

Then the child rolled on the ground as if in agony and 
torn by an invisible being. 

Suddenly he gave a piercing cry, so inhuman that many 
turned pale—a scream which resounded among the moun¬ 
tains like demoniac bursts of laughter. And the boy lay 
motionless on the ground with parted lips and bated breath. 

Sura took his hand, saying: 

“Stand up, my child, thou art a god.” 

The child rose with a smile, then knelt down and kissed 
Sura’s hand. 

And the master said: 

“Be blessed. Thy future is bright.” 

* * * 

Edward Bicker now lived in his home in California, 
where, for the last few years, he had been brought many 
times when the captain of the aeroplane judged it advisable 
on account of our hero’s health. 

He conversed daily with Ann, his children and other 
relatives and friends, making plans for the future. He 
knew now that his travels were over, and that Sura was 
going to leave the place for a long while. Soon our hero 
would be home again to care for his wife and his children, 
and he would be his own master, forever. 

Forever? He felt some sadness at the thought of 
abandoning the great task he had been engaged in for the 
last six years: three years before Sura’s arrival and three 
years after this happy event. 

He still felt as strong and young as he had thirty years 
previous. His sober living, his pure thoughts and his busy 
life had endowed him with an everlasting youth. 

No, he was not going home, forever. 


The Oath 


199 


He was going home, but to start some new work. 

One day, when he was alone, his aeroplane arrived to 
fetch him. 

“Sura is going to leave his disciples,” said the captain, 
“and he desires to see you.” 

Edward jumped into his ship and in less than fifteen 
minutes he arrived at a palace, surrounded by a great park. 

He was ushered into a large hall, where Sura was sitting 
like a king on a throne. As soon as Edward appeared, the 
Master rose and our hero stood face to face with the man 
he had served for so many long years. 

He understood now why he had never been allowed to 
see the Master. If he had seen him before, this sight would 
have weakened his mind instead of strengthening it. He 
felt now for the first time the great distance separating him 
from Sura, his master. He now felt discouraged, looking 
into those eyes full of power and love divine; he felt awe¬ 
struck, looking upon that brow like a god’s. He felt more 
humble than he had ever felt before, too humble to be cap¬ 
able of continuing his work as he had the first time. 

“Be blessed, my son,” said Sura, looking down upon our 
hero with his superhuman smile. “I thank thee for all 
thou hast done for humanity and for me. 

“Thy reward will be great, so great that I cannot even 
explain it to thee: thou wouldst not understand me. Look 
here.” 

And our hero felt as if transported to other regions. He 
saw himself as a king of an ideal kingdom, comprising all 
the countries of the world. 

Then Sura resumed: 

“Thou hast helped to produce a cosmic event. Human¬ 
ity is born, thanks to thy endeavors, and all creation will be 
grateful to thee. 


200 


The Birth of Humanity 


“Thou wast strong against Asura because thou hadst 
courage, purity and intuition. On those who possess these 
qualities, all his tricks are useless. 

“Therefore I chose thee, my dear, dear son. Thou hast 
done what no other human being was able to do. Thou art 
a splendid being. 

“I thank thee, I thank thee.” 

Then our hero was invited to sit down amongst Sura’s 
disciples and he was surprised to meet there the Hindu 
Brother, the captain, the pilots, the chauffeur and many 
others, whom he had frequently met on his long travels, and 
who had been of great assistance to him and had taught him. 

But his eyes turned to Sura, who sat down and seemed 
to meditate. His great, clear eyes were fastened on a certain 
spot on the ceiling of the large hall. 

Some moments later, he seemed to have obtained the 
message he was awaiting. He smiled and said: 

“This night, at supper, I will take leave.” 

He rose so suddenly that his disciples could not rise first 
as they were wont to do. And Sura retired to his private 
apartments. 

The captain came to shake hands with Bicker and said: 

“Tomorrow, you will be free to go home, Mr. Bicker, in 
your aeroplane; that is yours forever. You will use it as 
many times and for what purpose you choose; the crew will 
always be at your disposal. If you wish to use it for a 
pleasure-trip with your family you will be welcome. If 
you continue your work, Sura will be grateful to you. In 
the future, you are absolutely free.” 

“Then I am sure that I will go on with my work, but 
I will usually be accompanied by my dear wife, some of my 
children, and perhaps a few friends.” 

“You are right, Mr. Bicker, you will discover that there 
is room for many persons in your ship; you occupied only a 


The Oath 


201 


small part of it. Sura wishes that you use his own apart¬ 
ment for yourself; the good spiritual atmosphere of the 
place will be of great assistance to you.” 

Supper was served in a large hall, where a table was 
placed, on which each disciple found his meal served. 

Edward was invited to sit down at Sura’s right hand. 

The Master said to him: 

“Be blessed, my dear son, tomorrow thou wilt go home 
for as long a time as is thy desire; forever, if it is thy 
pleasure. Thou hast done enough. But if thou wilt go on 
working for humanity, it will certainly be of great help to it.” 

“I will go on working for thee, O Master,” said Bicker, 
in a trembling voice, “and for the glory of humanity.” 

“Thy reward will be great,” said Sura with a smile. 
“Thou wilt evolve with a surprising rapidity and soon ap¬ 
proach God.” 

Then he broke the bread and gave a piece of it to each 
of his disciples, saying: 

“Thou shalt merge into the Lord thy God in order to 
increase His glory. 

“Thou shalt love all thy fellow-creatures equally, as 
much as thy nearest and dearest relatives. 

“Man is a god. 

“Sincere kindness is the great road leading to immortality. 

“Righteousness be with you. 

“Peace be with you. 

“The spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of 
God.” 

When Sura rose with his disciples it was not dark. 

It was again the longest day of the year. 

Again the mysterious light of the sun under the horizon 
lighted the sea as described in the first chapter. 

At midnight, the sky was still clear and only a few stars 
succeeded in revealing their presence. 


202 


The Birth of Humanity 


The birds in the trees went on singing as if it were noon. 

The flowers reopened their petals as if day were near and 
breathed their perfume to the departing guest. 

A sacred vibration seemed to run over the whole country. 

No noise was heard. 

All human beings seemed conscious of the happening of a 
great event, and all were overwhelmed by strong emotion. 

All felt as if they were about to lose a dear relative. 

Sura bade farewell to each of his disciples, personally 
thanking and encouraging them. 

Most of them were crying. 

Sura, leaning on Edward’s arm, walked slowly to his 
aeroplane and entered it. 

He stood in his white robes, his long hair hanging onto 
his shoulders, his pure lips slightly parted, his eyes smiling 
their smile divine. 

All the disciples and Edward were on their knees. 

Sura stretched out his arms and seemed a white, holy 
cross and his body shone like the sun. 

Then he lowered his hands to his disciples and blessed 
them. 

The last words which he spoke were: “I come again.” 

Some moments later, the aeroplane was lifted from the 
earth and flew over the sea in the same direction from 
where it had arrived, three years previous. 

And the disciples followed it with their eyes. 

Sura was standing on the deck and his powerful figure 
was seen for some time surrounded by a glorious light. 

The aeroplane went on at full speed and soon disappeared 
behind the horizon. 

The disciples remained a long time on their knees and 
presently rose all together at a sign from their chief. 

Then all went to the aeroplanes that awaited them. 


The Oath 


203 


Some disciples remained in California, from where light 
would shine on all the world: The heart of humanity. 

Next day, our hero left California on his way home. He 
intended to traverse the United States and the Atlantic 
Ocean without landing. 

The route he was going to follow being known, he was 
met everywhere with flags, fireworks and cheers. He ordered 
the captain to adorn the aeroplane with the flags of all nations 
as a symbol of unity and fraternity of man; and the ship, in 
all her glory traversed the United States like a heavenly 
messenger bringing happiness to all beings. 

Ann was before the screen, witnessing the astonishing 
triumph her husband enjoyed during his trip. Edward was 
near the screen on the deck and explained to his wife what 
she saw. 

“The city you see is Los Angeles,” said Edward point¬ 
ing to the left. “Look at the parks and the crowded streets.” 

The roofs and the hills were full of people eager to send 
a last farewell to the beloved and admired man who had 
brought dignity into the world, who had awakened the human 
race to consciousness. 

In these words Edward’s work was judged in America. 

He was even more personally popular than Sura because 
the Master did not often show himself in large crowds. But 
Bicker was everywhere, fearing neither danger nor death, 
giving himself to humanity like a father to his children. He 
was the propagator of the new doctrine of unity, the educator 
of humanity: the still young and tender child of Sura’s ef¬ 
forts. In his hands rested the august task of making a 
splendid hero of the nursling. All Americans were con¬ 
scious of this fact and therefore the people wished to show 
their gratitude to our hero on his way home. 



204 


The Birth of Humanity 


Los Angeles was all flags and cheers when the aeroplane, 
the symbol of humanity, traversed the city, slowly, and as 
near as possible to the houses. 

At Denver the enthusiasm was at its highest. Though it 
was daylight nearly all the inhabitants set off fireworks and 
the noise was so strong that even Ann stopped her ears with 
her fingers. She said, smiling: 

“Is it not remarkable that I have to stop my ears at Am¬ 
sterdam while they cheer my husband in America?’’ 

When our hero passed Chicago it was night, but he dis¬ 
covered immense fiery letters floating on Lake Michigan, 
forming the words: “Edward Bicker come again soon.” 

The captain had illuminated the ship with innumerable 
lamps and it blazed like a torch. 

At Chicago the international hymn was played by more 
than a thousand instruments, a hymn which was sung in all 
countries of the world and was said to have been composed 
by Sura himself—a noble melody and words of great power 
which lifted the hearts to purer realms. 

Then the ship sailed to Washington, where enthusiasm 
was boundless. Philadelphia, the Quaker City, looked so 
bright with its innumerable flags and variegated trophies, 
that our hero could not help exclaiming to Ann on the 
screen: 

“I am so happy! So happy!” 

“I am happy with you, my dear Edward. People are 
grateful to you because you leveled Sura’s path. They trust 
you and love you. This promises much for your future 
work.” 

“My future work, Ann?” 

“No, our future work. I wish to share it as much as the 
care of our dear children will allow me to.” 

“That will be a happy time for us all.” 


The Oath 


205 


“And for humanity, Edward.” 

New York was in a frenzy. A committee had had the 
inhabitants bring onto the roofs of their houses as many 
flowers as they could get and when the glorious aeroplane 
arrived, the immense city was like a garden and the perfume 
of the flower-splendor reached even to our hero, standing on 
the deck of his ship. 

He ordered the captain to direct the plane above the city, 
and all parts of the town, in order that he could show his 
gratitude to the inhabitants by admiring the great work they 
had done in his behalf. 

At sunset, he left America’s hospitable soil and sailed 
above the ocean. 

Then Bicker had a long talk with the captain. 

His first captain was on Sura’s ship and the new captain 
was a kind and able young man, and desirous of serving our 
hero for many years to come. 

“But who gave me the ship and who is to face the heavy 
expenses of the crew?” asked Edward. 

“I may not speak about that, sir, but all is provided for; 
this ship and all of us are yours, gladly, and for as long as 
you live and need us.” 

The captain said a piece of land had been obtained and 
prepared at Amsterdam to house the aeroplane, when it was 
not used, and if Bicker wanted to travel he had only to 
inform the captain a couple of hours before, and all should 
be ready. 

He conversed with Ann during his crossing of the ocean, 
but an hour before arriving at Amsterdam, she said: 

“Now, I have to prepare myself for your arrival, my 
automobile is before the door.” 

And she disappeared from the screen. 

Edward, six years after his departure, saw his fatherland 


206 


The Birth of Humanity 


reappear, and he felt a deep emotion when the towers of his 
native city showed themselves in the light of a glorious sun¬ 
shine. 

He ordered that nobody should be admitted into the aero¬ 
plane save Ann, his wife. 

Then she appeared! 

How describe this meeting of a loving husband with his 
loving wife after six years of separation ? 

They stood a long time embracing each other, looking 
into each other’s eyes, incapable of uttering a word. Tears 
started in their eyes and they let them remain upon their 
cheeks—a sacred moisture, an emblem of love and purity, an 
emblem of the most ideal happiness and of the most divine 
satisfaction. 

Then some words came to their lips, holy words, too 
sacred to be written down, spoken in accents of beauty, 
indescribable; words even more august than love can dictate 
them. 

Then they sat down, hand in hand, and could not resolve 
to admit even the children. 

An ideal spiritual atmosphere reigned in the sacred room 
of the aeroplane, an atmosphere, woven of the reverent 
thoughts of Sura, the Divine, who had lived for three years 
in these surroundings. 

Edward and Ann felt as if the Master were present, his 
holy hands upon their heads in sign of blessing. 

Then the children were admitted, first John and his 
wife, he carrying his little boy, she carrying some roses, 
which she offered to her father-in-law. The baby kissed his 
grandfather repeatedly and had to be taken away, in order 
that the latter might greet his other children. 

Mary came next with her young husband whom Edward 
knew only from the screen. She embraced her father, sob* 


The Oath 207 

bing with joy on his breast and the young husband held 
Bickers hand in his, saying: 

“I am so nappy with Mary, dear father.” 

Then came Juliet, and Edward could not take his eyes 
from her lovely face in which he recognized the same quali¬ 
ties he had loved so much in his dear sister Juliet, when he 
was a boy. And his heart was filled with joy as if he saw 
again the person he revered like a saint. 

After her, Richard appeared, now fifteen years old, a timid 
fellow with a handsome face and large, sincere eyes, which 
bespoke his admiration for his father. 

At last Donald threw his arms around his father’s neck 
with such violence that Edward was nearly choked. 

“How glad I am to see you, again,” exclaimed the twelve- 
year-old boy. “I saw you many times on the screen, but 
I could not shake hands. You are the most splendid man I 
ever saw, and I love you as much as I love mother.” 

Edward looked at him with smiling eyes. 

“You are a sturdy little fellow, Donald. I’ll bet that 
you are a sportsman.” 

“I am, father; you will go with me to the gymnasium 
tomorrow?” 

“I do not promise it, Donald,” said the father stroking 
the curls of his little boy. “I do not promise.” 

Six years of absence had made a boy of his baby. 

The family talked some time together and our hero was 
assailed with numberless questions about his work and his 
travels. They could not yet resolve to admit the numerous 
friends, who were anxiously awaiting Edward outside the 
plane. But Bicker promised that he would devote the rest 
of the day to his family, as soon as he had shaken hands with 
his friends. 

But first of all, Edward’s brother, Richard, was admitted 


208 


The Birth of Humanity 


with his wife and progeny, more than twenty persons, the 
youngest six months old and the eldest, Richard himself, 
seventy-five. They were accompanied by Mr. Van Nuyss, 
Edward’s ancient partner, though his health was bad. But 
he had insisted on being led to the aeroplane of the now 
famous man, with whom he had worked for so many years. 

Then the doors were thrown open and a great number 
of friends came in to meet the man they admired and loved 
so much, and whose name appeared in all the papers of the 
world. Many persons, known by the reader of our pre¬ 
vious volume, appeared: Arthur, Lano, the manager and 
clerks of the Bicker-Van Nuyss Company and even the 
“Father of the Chamber,” now more than ninety years old, 
but still a strong, healthy man. 

“My young friend,” said the old man, “I always pre¬ 
dicted a splendid future for you, but you surpassed my ex¬ 
pectations. I am proud to be your friend.” 

Two hours later, Edward and his large family got into 
the automobiles which were to take them home. 

The streets were crowded to welcome the famous man 
and many houses were adorned with flowers and flags, and 
there seemed no end to the cheers. 

Ann had invited Richard and his family for dinner and 
when they were seated, Edward counted thirty-three guests, 
three of whom sat upon the laps of their mothers. 

Ann was seated between her husband and her brother- 
in-law. 

There were many speeches from old and young and 
even Donald recited a little speech, written by his mother. 

Suddenly the street was full of music and our hero was 
told that there was a band before the house with torches 
and crowds of people. 

He appeared on the balcony to thank them for the 


The Oath 


209 


honor; and he invited the bandmaster and the committee 
into his house. 

Another committee arrived to invite the whole family 
to a fireworks display and all went to the river Amstel, 
where the rockets succeeded each other without interrup¬ 
tion ; and at last appeared the name “Edward Bicker” in 
fiery letters, surrounded by variegated lights and hissing 
rockets. 

When, after midnight, Edward was alone with his wife, 
he said: 

“How exaggerated all this is!” 

“It is not, my dear Edward, you deserve it, believe me. 
You are much more than you yourself know.” 

“But what would the noble, calm and holy Sura say 
of such a cheering crowd?” 

“He would approve them; I am sure of it, because the 
more you are admired, the more influence you will have 
with the people.” 

And the thoughts of both went to the august figure 
which lived in their minds as a sacred memory. 

During the following days, our hero received many peo¬ 
ple and paid many visits; numerous clergymen and old 
acquaintances called to shake hands, and a great number 
of business friends of old, members of the Chamber of 
Denudes, directors of the stock exchange and managers of 
the numerous philanthropic societies which our hero so 
liberallv supported with his funds. Manv people, also, 
whom he did not know, but who desired to shake hands 
with the man they admired so much. 

But at last he could pass quieter davs at home, and 
talk with his wife and children without being disturbed. 

One night after dinner, when Bicker was alone with 
Ann, the door opened and a sailor appeared. 


210 


The Birth of Humanity 


“Father, forgive me,” said the man, kneeling near our 
hero. 

“Edward!” said Bicker in a trembling voice, “my dear, 
dear boy! Be welcome! Stand up, stand up!” 

“Father, forgive me,” said the son, still on his knees. 

“I have nothing to forgive you, my son, you are not 
guilty.” 

“Father, forgive me.” 

“You were always forgiven, Edward,” said the father, 
forcing his son to rise. 

And then the boy was suddenly in his mother’s arms. 
She kissed him in the way only a mother is able to kiss 
her child. Then she led him to a chair, and, seated, he burst 
into sobs. Ann, with her sweet, motherly smile, was at his 
side and she pressed his head against her breast, softly strok¬ 
ing his face and drying his tears with her handkerchief. 

“My dear, dear boy,” said she, kissing his forehead. “Be 
quiet; now all our sorrows are over.” 

Bicker was standing at the other side, holding his son’s 
hand. 

“You are free, Edward,” said the father, “and back 
home after the terrible trial you have passed through. You 
are free.” 

“Our happiness is complete,” said the mother, “now that 
our dear son is home.” 

“I am no longer worthy to be your son,” said the boy 
between his sobs. 

“You are, Edward.” 

“I am not, madam. I have been in too humble a con¬ 
dition. I have been a slave for three years.” 

“Don’t give it that name, Edward,” said the father. 
“You were not strong enough to resist Asura’s influence.” 

“Asura!” yelled the boy in a harsh voice, and clinching 


The Oath 211 

his fists. “I hate him and will curse his name till the last 
day of my life.” 

“You will not, Edward. Asura is a high, divine being, 
who chose the most ungrateful task: to oppose Sura. His 
opposition was needed, and Sura calls Asura his brother.” 

“His brother ?” said the son, lifting his head. 

“His brother, Edward. But I will explain this thing 
to you some other time. This is an evening of joy, because 
you are home, my dear, dear boy.” 

“Then you still love me, father?” 

“More than ever, Edward.” 

“But people think that I am your enemy.” 

“They will no more. I will show myself in public with 
you every day.” 

“But look at my hands, mother,” said the boy, sobbing 
again. “My hands are like those of a laborer. I had to 
do the hardest work on board.” 

“Don’t mind that, my child,” said Ann, kissing her 
son’s hands. “I will show you how to make them soft again, 
those dear hands.” 

“Now come with me, Edward. I will prepare your 
bath. All your clothes are still in your room. I took care 
of them, myself, and they are waiting for you.” 

An hour later Edward, junior, came down with his 
mother, dressed in his own clothes, and looking nearly as 
he did three years before. 

Some moments later Mary and Juliet came in and 
kissed their brother as heartily as they had before. 

The boys shook hands with their big brother—Richard 
timidly, Donald with all the strength of his little hands. 

Donald was so happy and excited that he rushed to the 
piano and played—very badly, alas!—a merry dance. 

But his mother said: 


212 


The Birth of Humanity 


“No, Donald, not now. Later you may play for your 
brother, Edward. But now we will talk with him / 5 

Some days later, our hero was invited to speak about 
Sura’s work to some intimate friends, all his children being 
present. 

“Ye are gods,” said he. “Sura emphasized this great 
idea of the Old and New Testament and made of it the 
foundation of his doctrine. 

“On this thought rests the secret of creation. All mys¬ 
teries have their origin in this fact. 

“ ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is 
in Heaven, is perfect , 5 said Jesus. 

“Only gods can be perfect. 

“Thou shalt merge into the Lord thy God in order to 
increase His glory. 

“This is Sura’s first and great commandment. 

“Most people ignore that God, in His ineffable growth, 
needs us in order to enlarge His consciousness. 

“It is our duty to sacrifice ourselves to our Creator, 
even as our Creator sacrifices Himself to us. We have to 

i 

offer Him the greatest sacrifice imaginable, the sacrifice 
of our consciousness in order to increase the Divine con¬ 
sciousness. 

“The universe evolves by sacrifices from both sides. 

“We are rooted in God, we came from God and go 
back to God, laden with our lives’ experiences.” 

Our hero, before going on, explained in detail how he 
understood these great truths, which have been destined to 
uplift humanity to a higher plane of sight for many cen¬ 
turies. 

Then he went on: 

“Thou shalt love all thy fellow-creatures equally, as 
much as thy nearest and dearest relatives. 


The Oath 


213 


“This great principle will bring forth 'The Diamond 
Age: 

“We are gods and God loves all beings equally. 

“In this way oneness will appear, and oneness will pro¬ 
duce ‘the Diamond Age.’ ” 

Some of those persons present judged it impossible to 
love all beings with an equal love, but Edward said that 
it was not easier to love one’s enemy than to love humanity 
in the way Sura wished it. In any event, we must obey 
the Master’s commandments. Two thousand years ago, 
Jesus’ commandment: “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” was 
considered impossible, but in this day everybody accepts it 
as a natural right. The Diamond Age can not appear 
as long as the human race is divided into little circles. 
Humanity is one being—like the cells of our body form one 
body. 

“Sincere kindness is the key to perfection,” said Edward. 
“A kind person radiates light; his heart is open to all human 
beings; but unkind and apparently kind people build a wall 
around themselves, •which excludes all, or nearly all, their 
fellow-men. 

“As yet, only a few know what sincere kindness means.” 

When our hero was alone with his wife and his son 
Edward, the latter said: 

“Father, after all you have said, I feel so changed, so 
joyful, so happy, to know that the noble things you told us 
are possible. 

“A few days ago, I was still in Emmanuel’s iron grip. 
And now I feel attracted to Sura, your noble Master. May 
he some day be mine.” 

“He will, Edward,” answered the father. “I under¬ 
stand your new feelings so well. It is the first time you 
have felt Sura’s touch, though I so poorly interpreted his 


214 


The Birth of Humanity 


world-conquering doctrine. From this very moment you 
are converted.” 

Young Edward bowed his head in a repentant attitude 
and tears came to his eyes. His mother took his head 
in her gentle hands and kissed his forehead. 

“Poor, poor boy,” said she with her noble voice that 
softened all pains. “You must forget the awful past and 
look at the bright future.” 

“I have suffered so much, mother,” said Edward in a 
trembling voice. 

“You have, my son,” said the father, “but your suffering 
has purified and strengthened your character. Your suf¬ 
fering has made you progress rapidly; progress cannot be 
gained without suffering. You will understand this later.” 

All three were silent for some moments and Bicker’s 
higher tune seemed to play a noble melody, which filled the 
room with vibrations of a higher kind, penetrating into the 
hearts of Ann and her son. 

“What can I do, father, in behalf of Sura, the Divine?” 
asked Edward in a low tone. 

“You are a noble-minded man, Edward, and a fine 
speaker. Perhaps you will be my successor, and they will 
call you Edward Bicker, the second.” 

The son smiled a sad, incredulous smile. 

“If that could be . . .” 

“It will, Edward. I see for you a great future. Let it 
be said in all reverence to the great Apostle: Let there grow 
a Paul out of this Saul. 

“From Asura’s helper you will become (not Emman¬ 
uel’s enemy), but Sura’s supporter.” 

At these words, a new energy seemed to flow into the 
boy’s veins; he lifted his head and his breast swelled. A 
bright color tinted his noble face and his lips were parted in 
a joyful smile. 


The Oath 


215 


“Now I feel power in my soul, father and dear mother, 
a faith to remove mountains. I will be what you wish me 
to be. I feel Sura’s influence in my breast like a great fire. 

“I hear Sura’s call; he induces me to help make human¬ 
ity strong and healthy, to educate it to what it intends 
to be. 

“I now understand the Master’s meaning as it came to 
me through your mouth. 

“I feel as if Sura will place your crown on my head, 
as soon as you abandon it.” 

He stopped suddenly. 

“Forgive me, father; let the crown be forever upon your 
head.” 

“It will not, Edward. The time will come when I need 
a successor, and I could not wish a better one than my noble- 
minded, clever son, prepared by myself for the sacred task. 

“You will succeed, my son, if you feel in your heart a 
faith to remove mountains, as you say.” 

“I will, father. You will be my model, and Sura, my 
protector. Teach me, father, teach me.” 

“I will, Edward, and we will go together around the 
world to enlighten humanity. Humanity—don’t forget, 
my boy, what this word means. 

“And your dear mother will accompany us.” 

“I will,” said Ann, with her noble smile. “I will, as 
many times as I can leave the children.” 

“They will be with us, they will be with us!” exclaimed 
the father in a radiant tone. “During the summer vaca¬ 
tions we will all go around the world. And I will bring 
you all to Madura’s sacred temple, where humanity, like a 
dear child, left Sura’s holy hands—a child with a glorious 
future. Nobody knows what has really happened through 
Sura’s advent. He called it a cosmic event. It means that 


216 


The Birth of Humanity 


the creation has been led in another direction, on the way 
back to God” 

His face had assumed an august expression and Ann 
and her son were speechless with awe. Was this man her 
husband and the father of her children? He seemed more 
an angel than a human being. 

Our hero continued: 

“Blessed be Sura, the Divine, whom God has sent to 
accomplish this great work. Blessed be his name—blessed 
be his work. 

“His mighty power thrills the universe, pushing it 
gently back toward the Creator. He, Sura, the Light- 
Bringer—the Great Blesser—who brought humanity into 
the light. 

“Give me your hand, Ann; give me your hand, Edward; 
let us pledge ourselves to bend all our efforts toward the 
uplift of humanity. 

“I swear!” 

Ann laid her hand on her husband’s, saying: 

“I swear!” 

And Edward, junior, laid his hand upon those of his 
parents, saying: 

“I swear!” 

And it seemed as if a well-known invisible being laid 
his blessing hand on theirs, his eyes fixed on God. 


THE END 


Epilogue 

And there are also many other things which Sura did, 
which, if they were to be written, every one, I suppose, 
even the world itself, could not contain the books that 
would chronicle them. 



















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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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